
Two Battles of the Bulge
Going through old letters, columnist Madeleine Johnson encounters her long dead uncle, who was a soldier in his own private battle.

Bare male flesh
It was not my express intention, but during my travels this summer I saw a lot of naked male flesh. [...]

Tale of two authors
For a long time I have felt called to write about Jhumpa Lahiri, the London-born author of Indian descent, whose [...]

Goodbye, Don Matteo
For the last few days, my ears have been buzzing with a snippet of elevator-style synthesizer music. It’s short and [...]

Shovel and broom
Some people have parents who behave conventionally, not so in the case of columnist Madeleine Johnson, whose mother and father had methods all their own for dealing with the vicissitudes of daily life.

How one war’s legacy endures
The story of World War II and the postwar is littered with mythology handed down over decades. Columnist Madeleine Johnson has found both the ways and means to cut through some of it.

Not so bad? Think again
While in Italy, columnist Madeleine Johnson picked up a new book on the Fascist era. What it has to say is essential — especially now.

American Alfie
Columnist Madeleine Johnson, pestered by Italians over how she spends her days in America, responds in non-Hollywood style.

Letter from Milan
In October, I was finally able to return to Milan, where I lived for almost thirty years. I had not [...]

Killing the assassin
Fall is here. For some, autumn is associated with pumpkin spice and sweaters. For me, it’s the start of Japanese [...]

Heard along the way
My memory contains many 50-year old snippets of overheard adult conversations. Misunderstood words and phrases would rise above the tinkling [...]