Age of Anxiety

With her blockbuster 2014 novel “Everything I Never Told You,” Ng reinvented the suburban novel for our present age of anxiety, with its status-signaling, subtle racial tensions, teenage secrets and tone-deaf parents.

Assuming that the past six weeks are predictive of what’s next, expect an age of anxiety; expect the elimination of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of jobs; expect the decimation of liberal institutions to go on for all four years of Trump’s second term; expect government services to deteriorate; expect reduced funding of the safety net; and expect more homelessness, hunger and disease.

Our present age of anxiety — which includes post-pandemic economic challenges to the arts, diminished attention spans and audiences seeking escape from all but virtual reality — has ushered in an atmosphere of caution in just about everything presented to the public.

He also wrote classical music, including three symphonies, “Jeremiah,” “The Age of Anxiety” and “Kaddish,” and made the classical realm accessible to ordinary Americans through his Young People’s Concerts.

In early 2020, Akashic released his novel “The Freedom Artist,” set in an “age of anxiety” that is beset by plagues, tyranny and rampant disinformation.