“You’ve been on your boat,” the waiters say. The word “boat” excites them. It boasts the sudden sex that secret agents purport but never have.
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Numismatist
"How are you?" I asked. Eighty-two, he answered, tapping his ribs with his fingertips.
Monterey Pop
Look at Mama Cass looking at Janis Joplin. That's worth the movie.
Rome Zenophobia
Zenobia can legitimately lay claim to the best Middle Eastern restaurant in Rome.
Face Off
John Woo ensures cosmetic surgery takes on a brave new meaning.
Millions
I placate the hubbub with earplugs but fall short. Weekdays belong to the drills.
Affliction
Russell Banks' New Hampshire novel gets a superlative James Coburn.
Ottoman lesbians
The women lived in an apartment loyal to wood — tables, armoires, ornate chairs, and bookcases.
Casino Royale
Daniel Craig puts the vulnerable James back into Bond.
Amulet
The last Uruguayan on the planet — Bolaño-made — has a wonderful story to tell.
The Final Solution
In postwar Britain, Michael Chabon gives Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a run for his detective money.
Every Man for Himself
Beryl Bainbridge brilliantly uses the "Titanic" disaster to make an age vanish beneath the cold Atlantic.