French Writer Marie NDiaye Gets Under the Skin

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( encounter [Marie NDiaye Gets Under the Skin]( The French writer’s refusal to overexplain makes her books even more unsettling. Photo: Sarah van Rij Marie NDiaye does not seek clarity. She is nearsighted, but you won’t find her in glasses. Born and raised in France, for years the writer lived in Berlin, where she enjoyed the fact that she did not speak perfect German — it produced, she told me in French, “a haziness that suited me.” In her novels, she plunges her characters, usually women, into a visceral experience of difference, often without naming what that difference is. Their worlds are inhospitable and uncanny, their families estranged or indifferent. While their internal landscapes overflow with guilt and shame that can feel racially coded, their traits are blurred, leaving readers with an interpretive gap to fill. Although her later novels allude more directly to color and class anxiety, her texts still inspire a paranoia about how to read her protagonists, catching us in a game of complicity. When I told the writer that it was often mysterious why the characters are so alienated, she was pleased. “Staying in an ambiguity, even in a form of discomfort — that suits me very well,” she said. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. Subscribe now to [save over 60%]( on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Gen V: [Blackout]( • Love Is Blind: [Don’t Go to the Bars in Houston]( • The Real Housewives of New York City: [The Masked Avengers]( • The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: [Beach Day]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Is This the End of Housewives As We Know It? What RHONY and RHOSLC say about the franchise’s future, and what Andy’s TV roles say about his acting chops, in this Housewives Institute Bulletin.]( By Brian Moylan [A Timeline of Will and Jada’s ‘Bad Marriage for Life’ “We are working very hard to bring our relationship back together,” Jada says.]( By Chris Murphy and Zoe Guy [Frasier and Niles Were Supposed to Open a Theater Together But when David Hyde Pierce said no, the reboot creators had to evolve.]( By Devon Ivie [The 15 Most Soul-Crushing Episodes of Rick and Morty The show is frequently devastating, even when it’s about a toilet.]( By Corey Plante [Bandcamp Hit With Layoffs After Sale to Songtradr Epic sold the company last month.]( By Justin Curto [The 15 Funniest Episodes of Rick and Morty Yes, “Pickle Rick” made the list.]( By Corey Plante [How Late Night Addressed the Israel-Hamas Conflict The entire Strike Force Five addressed the conflict in their first shows back.]( By Bethy Squires [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. Photo: Adult Swim Rick and Morty season seven kicked off on October 15 with a raucous party starring Hugh Jackman, and the party will keep going for 93 more years if Rick Sanchez has any say in the matter. Here’s a list of [the show’s top-15 funniest episodes](, according to Vulture. [Read more from Vulture]( A newsletter of TV and movie recommendations. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved