An unsafe world

13 May 2026, The Tablet

“The election came and went. Half of the country was stunned, the other half jubilant.”

Exactly halfway through this short and exceptionally fine novel, Donald Trump is elected for the second time. The event merits one line, slap bang in the middle of an otherwise empty page: “The election came and went. Half of the country was stunned, the other half jubilant.” This device, worthy of the creative flamboyance of Laurence Sterne, marks the pivotal fulcrum of Artie’s life.

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