Scriptorium

Eshkol Nevo's "Three Floors Up" uses a Freudian scheme to make sense of the personal complexities of modern Israel.

In "4 3 2 1," winner of the Man Booker International Prize, American novelist Paul Auster digs into his four-part past.

In "Manhattan Beach," Jennifer Egan dives into historical fiction. And comes up with a story about people and waves.

Salman Rushdie's "The Golden House" takes him back to heart of Manhattan in a layered story about identity and politics.

In "House of Names," Colm Toìbìn reworks Aeschylus to get to the core of a suddenly godless ancient world.

Susan Van Allen experiential travel guide is an intelligent Italian companion for men and women alike.

Israeli novelist David Grossman uses the act of a stand-up comedian to get to the heart of Jewish doubt.

José Saramargo's penultimate novel is a small masterpiece of pachyderm humor.

Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railway" is a searing indictment of the biggest of all American crimes, slavery.

Zadie Smith conjures up a fictional memory lane that features two mixed race girls and their often-fractured lives.

Jonathan Safran Foer's "Here I Am" focuses on Jewish identity while gradually widening the lens.

Ian McEwan's 15th novel channels high and low Shakespeare to wicked effect.