New Yorker Briefly Noted: Four New Books on Wilderness, Female Body, Obsession, and Ambition
The Briefly Noted section highlights four recent publications. In 'The Savage Landscape' (Viking), Cal Flyn explores the concept of wilderness within a world dominated by humans, traveling to isolated locations and asserting that trophy hunting and corporate exploitation pose significant threats to these natural areas. Erin Maglaque's 'Presence' (Astra) uncovers a concealed narrative concerning the female body from the 1500s to the 1800s, illustrating how medical perceptions influenced natural events such as childbirth. Carla Madeira's 'It's All River' (Liveright), translated by Alison Entrekin, tells the story of Lucy, a sex worker fixated on a married man, leading her to drastic actions. Jenny Jackson's 'The Shampoo Effect' (Pamela Dorman) follows Caroline as she leaves her job to pursue writing, navigates romantic relationships, and encounters challenges with childhood friends.
Key facts
- Cal Flyn's 'The Savage Landscape' is published by Viking.
- Flyn travels to the Transylvanian Alps, Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique, and the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.
- Flyn concludes wilderness is a negative definition, an absence.
- Wilderness is threatened by trophy-hunting, scientific study, and corporate exploitation.
- Erin Maglaque's 'Presence' is published by Astra.
- Maglaque's book covers the 1500s to the 1800s.
- Maglaque uses sources like physicians' casebooks, midwifery manuals, household recipe collections, court testimonies, and private letters.
- Carla Madeira's 'It's All River' is translated by Alison Entrekin and published by Liveright.
- Jenny Jackson's 'The Shampoo Effect' is published by Pamela Dorman.
- The protagonist Caroline has a story published in this magazine.
- Caroline moves to a seaside residency in Massachusetts.
- The novel explores friendships tested by growing families and ambition.
Entities
Artists
- Cal Flyn
- Erin Maglaque
- Carla Madeira
- Alison Entrekin
- Jenny Jackson
Institutions
- The New Yorker
- Viking
- Astra
- Liveright
- Pamela Dorman
Locations
- Transylvanian Alps
- Niassa Special Reserve
- Mozambique
- Southern Ocean
- Antarctica
- Massachusetts