Links of the week January 21 2019 (04)

More than 150 years after Bovary breathed her last, the market is flush with psychopathic she-beasts and irredeemably miserable vipers. Villainous bitches are popping up everywhere. That shouldn't surprise anyone, given the twisty vine of rage rightfully wrapping itself around American womenfor the last several years (or decades). In fiction, these women follow the Bovary template in at least one respect: The rare angry singleton aside, they are married or recently divorced women, unhappy with the dull rituals of companionship or the woefully inadequate men to whom they've chained themselves. What we've come to call domestic thrillers have become, by and large, stories about psychos in shitty marriages. Unfortunately, many of these psychos are one-dimensional - angry women without a shred of complexity, cardboard storyboards for the inevitable film adaptation.

Back then, the Millions was just one site among many, at a time when every 20-something with something to say was self-publishing it online. Starting a blog was the last decade's equivalent of launching a podcast, the go-to (generally unpaid) side hustle for young people with a lot of opinions. But over the next ten years, fueled by Magee's relentless enthusiasm and not much else, the Millions grew into a unique and remarkable place. As of last year, the site was revered by almost everyone who cared about books, a coveted outlet for book publicists and marketers and a launching pad for the careers of multiple literary stars. Yet it retained the indie credibility of a passion project run by industry outsiders.