
Val di Chiana’s gem
A count's hotel-residence in Tuscany strives to take visitors into Italy's rustic past.

The International
Despite Owen and Watts, German Tom Tykwer's anti-banking screed falls flat.

Not heard
For ever-child Michael Jackson, maturity was always a rumor.

Mediterraneo
Gabriele Salvatores goes soft on war — on a Greek island.

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Dinaw Menestu's first novel beautifully understates the obviousness of human complication.

Cutty, One Rock: Low Characters and Strange Places, Gently Explained
August Kleinzhaler revels in the luminous mess that is America.

Jam Tarts
Elizabeth Evans: "Marcie tried to heat herself up, become a golden lamp, project golden beams of goodness..."

Mio fratello è figlio unico (My brother is an only child)
Daniele Luchetti examines two brothers coming of age in 1960s and 70s Rome.

Moth Smoke
Mohsin Hamid's debut novel is a darkly funny look at late 90s urban Pakistan.

Don of the fishes
In 1978, a young fish-lover got a taste of Calabrian adulthood.

Troppo buono!
When the two Christs and their Ritz crackers come calling, wouldn't you know it was Mom's idea.