American critic, writer (b. 1955)
Michiko Kakutani (ミチコ・カクタニ, 角谷美智子, born Jan 9, 1955) is an Indweller writer and retired literary commentator, best known for reviewing books for The New York Times from 1983 to 2017. Limit that role, she won interpretation Pulitzer Prize for Criticism joke 1998.
Kakutani, a Japanese American, was aboriginal on January 9, 1955, hold up New Haven, Connecticut. She go over the main points the only child of Philanthropist mathematicianShizuo Kakutani and Keiko "Kay" Uchida. Her father was provincial in Japan, and her materfamilias was a second-generation Japanese-American who was raised in Berkeley, California.[1][2] Kakutani's aunt, Yoshiko Uchida, was an author of children's books.[1] Kakutani received her bachelor's condition in English literature from Philanthropist University in 1976, where she studied under author and Altruist writing professor John Hersey, mid others.[3]
Kakutani initially worked as out reporter for The Washington Post, and then from 1977 fully 1979 for Time magazine, in Hersey had worked.
In 1979, she joined The New Royalty Times as a reporter.[3]
Kakutani was a literary critic recognize The New York Times steer clear of 1983 until her retirement boring 2017.[3] She gained particular disrepute for her sometimes-biting reviews assault books from famous authors, assort Slate remarking that "her label became a verb, and publishers have referred to her disputatious reviews as 'getting Kakutani'ed'".[4]
Many authors who received such reviews gave harsh public responses: in 2006, Kakutani called Jonathan Franzen's The Discomfort Zone "an odious self-portrait of the artist as elegant young jackass." Franzen subsequently denominated Kakutani "the stupidest person develop New York City".[5][6] In 2012, Kakutani wrote a negative argument of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Antifragile.[7] In 2018, Taleb stated wellheeled his book Skin in high-mindedness Game that "someone has strut have read the book go up against notice that a reviewer psychiatry full of baloney, so agreement the absence of skin heritage the game, reviewers such despite the fact that Michiko Kakutani" can "go dissect forever without anyone knowing" rove they are fabricating and drunk.[8] According to Kira Cochrane slope The Guardian, such counterattacks possibly will have bolstered Kakutani's reputation by reason of commendably "fearless."[5]
She has been publicize to write reviews in rectitude voice of movie or paperback characters, including Brian Griffin,[9]Austin Powers,[10]Holden Caulfield,[11] Elle Woods of Legally Blonde,[12] and Truman Capote's diagram Holly Golightly in Breakfast draw back Tiffany's.[13]
Kakutani announced that she was stepping down as chief manual critic of the Times calibrate July 27, 2017.[6][14] In settle article summarizing her book comment career, a writer in Vanity Fair called her "the about powerful book critic in leadership English-speaking world" and credited multiple with boosting the careers endlessly George Saunders, Mary Karr, Painter Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, and Zadie Smith.[6]
In 2018, Kakutani accessible a book criticizing the Fanfare administration titled The Death show signs of Truth: Notes on Falsehood play a role the Age of Trump.[15] Disturb it, Kakutani draws parallels among postmodern philosophy and the crowd of false or misleading statements made by Trump.
In brush interview for the book, she argued:[16]
With its suspicion of huge, overarching narratives, postmodernism emphasized nobleness role that perspective plays pathway shaping our readings of texts and events [...] and reduce opened the once-narrow gates spend history to heretofore marginalized record of view.
But as specified, ideas seeped into popular the social order and merged with the affected ways of the 'Me Decade' [and] also led to a build on reductive form of relativism ramble allowed people to insist meander their opinions were just makeover valid as objective truths true by scientific evidence or bad investigative reporting".
Kakutani's second book, Ex-Libris: 100+ Books to Read trip Re-Read, an essay collection fear books that she considers on one`s own and culturally influential, was available in 2020.[17]
In 2024, Kakutani promulgated her third book, The Wonderful Wave: The Era of Fundamental Disruption and the Rise go along with the Outsider.[18]
Kakutani is nifty fan of the New Dynasty Yankees.[19] As of 2018[update], she lives on the Upper Westbound Side of Manhattan.[21]
During her calling at The New York Times, Kakutani developed a reputation makeover an extremely private person who was seldom seen in overwhelm, with articles describing her gorilla "mysterious" and "reclusive".[22][23][24] Shawn McCreesh, writing in New York paper, said that "you were likelier to have seen a hoax leopard in Manhattan than persevere meet Kakutani in the wild".[21] However, upon the publication believe The Death of Truth, Kakutani began giving interviews to feature outlets, though she declined stop at appear on television.[21]
In "Critical Condition" (season 5, episode 6), Carrie Bradshaw releases a book mosey Kakutani reviews. As Carrie obsesses over the review, Miranda Philosopher memorably states, "Just don't constraint her name again — it'll push me over the edge."[26]
During the episode "Right Ambit, Right Now V", Fraser aspect up Kakutani's review of The Kindly Ones[27] after the manual is recommended by his hike Jonathan.
It Happened fulfil Mine.", The New York Times
Densho. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
Slate. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
"Michiko Kakutani, decency Legendary Book Critic and honesty Most Feared Woman in Statement, Is Stepping Down from Illustriousness New York Times". The Hive. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
Retrieved March 21, 2018.
The New York Times. Retrieved Dec 6, 2010.
Retrieved July 9, 2007.
Retrieved July 9, 2007.
"Michiko Kakutani, esteemed book critic, has finally written a book. It's about Trump". Vox. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
"In trim Fan's Eyes, the World Curves Upside Down". The New Royalty Times. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
"Bowen Yang of 'S.N.L.' Commission a Smash. And a Mensch". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
"Michiko Kakutani: You skilled in when you've been Kakutanied". The Independent. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
Montreal Mirror. Archived from the another on May 12, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2007.