A man of 30, living in an unprosperous area of South London, receives a whopping settlement of £8.5 million for an accident that left in him a coma for weeks, followed by months more in casts. Because of brain damage, he’s had to relearn to walk and to lift food to his mouth. Though he Read More
The title of this odd, anomalous volume comes from an episode early on, in which a Scots ancestor of Alice Munro takes his youngest son to the stony eminence outside Edinburgh Castle to see “America”—in quotes because the view from up there is actually only of the harbor and of Fife on the other side. Read More
The title of this odd, anomalous volume comes from an episode early on, in which a Scots ancestor of Alice Munro takes his youngest son to the stony eminence outside Edinburgh Castle to see “America”—in quotes because the view from up there is actually only of the harbor and of Fife on the other Read More
This is a book about age and regret. Since it’s by Nora Ephron, it’s funny. A funny book about loss is a puzzle, and it’s that puzzle that I, if not the author, tussle with in reading this delightful, maddening collection of personal essays whose wit is sublime and whose concerns are sometimes reduced to Read More
This is a book about age and regret. Since it’s by Nora Ephron, it’s funny. A funny book about loss is a puzzle, and it’s that puzzle that I, if not the author, tussle with in reading this delightful, maddening collection of personal essays whose wit is sublime and whose concerns are sometimes reduced to Read More
Katharine Weber puts her stories together like piecework, like the work done by the two sisters in Triangle, one a survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. fire of 1911, the other killed by it (along with 145 others). Ms. Weber stitches together an interview, an article, a conventional third-person narrative the way one sister added Read More
Katharine Weber puts her stories together like piecework, like the work done by the two sisters in Triangle, one a survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. fire of 1911, the other killed by it (along with 145 others). Ms. Weber stitches together an interview, an article, a conventional third-person narrative the way one sister added Read More
This collection of 20 recent essays by Cynthia Ozick begins with a memorial appreciation of Susan Sontag. It’s noble and notable that Ms. Ozick should appreciate Sontag, a vanquishing rival for literary reputation and, equally to the point, a liberal emanating from the old Partisan Review, while Ms. Ozick stands with the Commentary crowd Read More
This collection of 20 recent essays by Cynthia Ozick begins with a memorial appreciation of Susan Sontag. It’s noble and notable that Ms. Ozick should appreciate Sontag, a vanquishing rival for literary reputation and, equally to the point, a liberal emanating from the old Partisan Review, while Ms. Ozick stands with the Commentary crowd who Read More
Colson Whitehead’s third novel could be called a black comedy, if not for the unfortunate pun: This black comedy is partly about being black. It’s also about brand names. Branding and blackness run in very odd tandem, since one is a chosen process and thought to be superficial yet lingeringly consequential, and the other—also a Read More
Affordable Housing or Lack Thereof
