ARTnews has published a list of five art novels to read this summer, all released within the past year. The featured books include Ben Lerner's 'Transcription,' Larissa Pham's 'Discipline,' Deborah Levy's 'My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction,' Stephanie Wambugu's 'Lonely Crowds,' and Luke Goebel's 'Kill Dick.' Each novel explores how art emerges through relationships—with friends, mentors, parents, lovers, and historical artists—offering a range of perspectives from anxious inner monologues to satirical critiques of the art world.
This roundup matters because it highlights a growing literary trend that uses fiction to examine the complexities of the contemporary art world, from mentorship dynamics and #MeToo reckonings to market pressures on Black figurative painters and the legacy of the Sackler family. By curating these titles, ARTnews signals that art novels are becoming an increasingly important lens for understanding the social, ethical, and psychological dimensions of art-making and the art industry, appealing to both art enthusiasts and general readers.