New Yorker Briefly Noted: Michael Lewis's DOGE Chronicle, Fady Joudah's Gaza Poems, and Two Novels
In the Briefly Noted section of The New Yorker, four recent publications are examined. Michael Lewis's Blockers, released by Norton, discusses the anticipated launch of the Department of Government Efficiency in early 2025 by Elon Musk, a consultant for the Trump Administration, with a goal of reducing federal expenditures by two trillion dollars. The book addresses unlawful mandates affecting tech employees and the job losses faced by public workers. Fady Joudah's Exhibit G, published by Milkweed, comprises poems and essays that reflect on the violence in Gaza, accompanied by images of children, delving into themes of exile and the "white noise of genocide." Alexander Maksik's Passengers, from Europa, portrays Ivan and his daughter Nina at LAX as they endure an indefinite flight delay. Lastly, Jan Carson's Few and Far Between, from Scribner, presents an alternate history of the Ark amid the Troubles and the ensuing flooding strategy.
Key facts
- Michael Lewis's Blockers is published by Norton
- Elon Musk launched the Department of Government Efficiency in early 2025 as a Trump Administration consultant
- DOGE's stated aim was cutting two trillion dollars in federal spending
- Fady Joudah's Exhibit G is published by Milkweed and was a National Book Award finalist
- Alexander Maksik's Passengers is published by Europa
- Passengers opens at a departures terminal at LAX with a flight to Paris
- Jan Carson's Few and Far Between is published by Scribner
- The Ark in Carson's novel arose from partial drainage of Lough Neagh in the nineteen-sixties
Entities
Artists
- Michael Lewis
- Fady Joudah
- Alexander Maksik
- Jan Carson
- Elon Musk
- Ivan
- Nina
Institutions
- The New Yorker
- Norton
- Milkweed
- Europa
- Scribner
- Department of Government Efficiency
- Trump Administration
- National Book Award
Locations
- Gaza
- Paris
- France
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Ireland
- Northern Ireland
- Lough Neagh