Despite some overwrought trimmings, here is a World War II book with a vision.
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Duplex
What's growing up in 1950s suburban America without sorcerers and robots?
A Minor Apocalypse
Tadeusz Konwicki's tragicomic reflection of a man about to burn himself alive transcends ideology.
Munro’s damaged lives
Canadian Nobel winner Alice Munro's final collection depends on deft portrayals of small-town sadness.
Sympathy for the Devil: Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal
American writer Michael Mewshaw generously recalls Gore Vidal and his tumultuous times.
I Refuse
In a novel with autobiographical hues, Norwegian Per Petterson considers friendship and lost time.
All Days Are Night
Swiss novelists Peter Stamm, most at ease with uneasy peace, creates characters to suit that mood.
Jacobson’s Final Solution
Howard Jacobson's "J" pushes the British-styled Jewish question into dystopian territory.
Franny and Zooey
Half-a-century later, Salinger's Glass family still emanates smart and shining light.
There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In
Ludmilla Petrushevskaya's brilliant stories eviscerate families seeking Communist-era roofs.
Twilight of the Eastern Gods
Ismail Kadare's recollection of his year among Soviet literary wannabes is great fun.
The Laughing Monsters
Denis Johnson's novel of spies in Africa falls well short of its Graham Greene-Le Carré mark.