The Prudentialist on Sohrab Ahmari and Magdalene Taylor on a Silicon Valley Sex Addict
If you want to read the entire new issue of the Mars Review, as well as all of our beloved pieces from back issues—such as Tao Lin on autism, Christian Lorentzen on Bronze Age Pervert and Logo Daedalus, and Sean Thor Conroe on Emmanuel Carrère—you’ll have to subscribe at marsreview.org. (Just scroll down a little to the subscription buttons.)
But to whet your appetite, we’re taking two pieces from the new issue out from behind the paywall.
Why are you poor and unhappy? Is it corporations' fault? Or the government's? In a sense, a government is actually just a corporation with a monopoly on violence. So maybe it’s a distinction without a difference. In his review of Sohrab Ahmari’s Tyranny, Inc., The Prudentialist points out the ways private and public institutions work together in lockstep.
Do you watch porn? How much? Does it matter? In her review of Jason Portnoy’s road to recovery memoir Silicon Valley Porn Star, Magdalene Taylor delves deep on these questions. Like a good detective, Taylor takes care to look at what is being left out of this would-be tell-all.
Did I mention that in addition to print copies of Issue 4, we’ve got tote bags for sale featuring a re-purposing of the design of our iconic Issue 1 cover?
We also had an incredible double-launch in New York and Lisbon last week. I’ll share some photos and maybe tells some stories from the week another time.
Hope you enjoy the pieces, and don’t forget to subscribe.
Sinceramente,
Noah Kumin
Editor in Chief
Mars Review of Books