October 31, 2011

The Hero of His Own Life?

October 31, 2011/ Jaya Aninda Chatterjee

It's easy to love the Dickens we think we know--the man whose warm compassion and boundless imagination gave us Scrooge and Tiny Tim, Pip and Magwitch, Oliver Twist and Nancy. But what about the man behind the novels? Claire Tomalin's magisterial new biography brings us up close and personal.

October 31, 2011

Skulking in the Sewers

October 31, 2011/ Joshua Lustig

Umberto Eco's potboiling new novel The Prague Cemetery was denounced in Europe for anti-Semitism, and then went on to become a best-seller. Is the controversy valid? What strange creation has Eco brought forth?

October 31, 2011

In Lieu of a Drink

October 31, 2011/ Jack Hanson

Provocative public intellectual/muckraker Christopher Hitchens offers an enormous volume of collected essays and articles, probably his last.

October 31, 2011

The Steward

October 31, 2011/ Steve Donoghue

He's been waiting for the throne longer than any Prince of Wales before him, and he's changed the nature of the monarchy while he's been waiting. But will we ever see King Charles III? 'A Year with the Windsors' takes a look at the heir.

October 31, 2011

Set Sail, Come Home

October 31, 2011/ Phillip A. Lobo

On the surface, the new RPG Bastion is a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash video game---but a complex narrative back-story reveals some hidden depths.

October 31, 2011

Last Month

October 31, 2011/ Open Letters Monthly

Alan Hollinghurst's latest; an essay from Douglass Shand-Tucci; Sargent's El Jaleo reconsidered; António Lobo Antunes’ thrillers; Ben Lerner’s latest; vintage scents; Akilah Oliver’s final volume and far more....