Literary Batman strikes her targets in unexpected ways

Lauren Oyler entertains in an essay collection that elevates literature and tips over the occasional sacred cow

Critical gaze: Lauren Oyler. Photo: Carleen Coulter

Roisin KIberd

“I don’t really know why I write criticism,” says Lauren Oyler, prominent literary critic, in this essay collection. Still she continues, correcting cultural wrongs for uncertain rewards: “It’s probably a bit too much about an illusion of justice for me, really.” A serious book with an unserious title, No Judgement explores, with acuity and wit, the question of what criticism can and should be in our times.

The idea of a critic delivering justice casts Oyler as a literary Batman, moving in darkness before striking her targets in unexpected ways. It’s a role that gained her a following as a critic, but this role probably became harder after publishing her first novel, Fake Accounts, in 2021.