The Last Thing He Wanted
Joan Didion at her fictional best was all about personal and government conspiracies.
On the Natural History of Destruction
Understanding the whole of World War II requires digging into Sebald's musings.
Black Dogs
McEwen's rural allegory says more about evil's omnipresence that volumes of history.
Italy on the rails
Leaning to accept things as they are goes with the Italian (train) landscape.
Flypaper
Robert Musil's imaginative short fiction often uses Rome as a take-off point.
The Childhood of Jesus
Coetzee's latest parable, which pokes at the roots of faith, is his best in years.
Paris Stories
God is in the details for Mavis Gallant, Canada's leading Parisian emissary.
Little Misunderstandings of No Importance
The late Antonio Tabucchi always wanted it both ways: real and surreal.
Satantango
For László Krasznahorkai, neither God nor the devil offer a "human" way out.
Why is meringue weeping?’
Gabrielle Hamilton's remembrance of growing up in (and out of) a crazy, culinary home is top notch.
Marry Me
Once a wizard when it came to macabre irony, Dan Rhodes has lost his mojo.