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Author

Shaj Mathew

Shaj Mathew is a Ph.D. student in comparative literature at Yale. His criticism has appeared in the New York Times Book Review.

All Articles
December 5, 2017
Shaj Mathew
The Power of the Louvre Abu Dhabi
Can the museum tell a new story about art—and reshape the Gulf's image?
June 22, 2016
Shaj Mathew
Brexit Exposes Britain’s Massive Inferiority Complex
January 28, 2016
Shaj Mathew
Jhumpa Lahiri’s Roman Holiday
In her new memoir, the novelist abandons English for Italian.
October 13, 2015
Shaj Mathew
Orhan Pamuk’s Working-Class Flâneurs
His most accessible novel yet documents two Istanbuls
May 19, 2015
Shaj Mathew
Welcome to Literature’s Duchamp Moment
Avant-garde fiction is starting to resemble conceptual art
July 3, 2014
Shaj Mathew
Hubris, Total Football, and the Ethics of Diving: David Winner on the Dutch Team's Chances
An interview with the author of "Brilliant Orange"
June 20, 2014
Shaj Mathew
Why Did Borges Hate Soccer?
Mass culture was anathema to the Argentine writer
June 14, 2014
Shaj Mathew
The Six Stages of England Fan Pessimism
Plumbing the psyche (or at least the tweets) of a nation that expects the worst in this (and every) World Cup
June 13, 2014
Shaj Mathew
Robots Might Be Smart, But They're Terrible at Soccer—and They Flop, Too
A report from an awkward, adorable robot-soccer match
June 9, 2014
Shaj Mathew
The World Cup Is About to Begin, and FIFA's Reputation Has Never Been Worse
June 6, 2014
Shaj Mathew
Do U.S. Soccer Fans Steal Europe's Customs? Damn Right We Do!
A British writer calls American soccer fans “derivative, excessive and utterly ridiculous.” Those same adjectives apply to his essay.

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