
The fix
Both state and church associate destiny with hardship, and hardship with hope.

The Farenheit Twins
Faber is very much at home in these dark and luminous stories about the way things go right and wrong, and unexpected hope.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
A journey through string theory and quantum mechanics courtesy of a Columbia University physicist.

A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future
According to Robert Blair Kaiser, Pope Benedict is more likely to be Roman than Catholic.

Babel
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s war of the worlds, in which no one makes enough sense.

Children of Men
Alfonso Cuarón's ferocious take on a P.D. James novel is a thrilling powerhouse.

The Good German
In a pinch, please stick with "Casablanca" — but Clooney's fun.

The Last King of Scotland
Idi-cum-Forest thrashes around like crazy, but the movie sits still.

The Good Shepherd
Robert De Niro's CIA is too dull to be believed.

The Stars at Noon
This bizarre concoction from Denis Johnson almost captures the paranoia of Nicaragua in the Sandinista years.

Snakes & Earrings
Ultimate kewl Japanese: Hitomi Kanehara gets to the heart of Tokyo's tat scene with a cold hand and a good heart.