True Originals: Biographies That Defy Expectations
It's probably not true that truth is stranger than fiction, but in the hands of a great biographer, it can be just as compelling. Novelists can create unique and unforgettable characters — there's...
View ArticleEchoes Of Orwell In 'The Office Of Mercy'
It was no less than the master of dystopian fiction, George Orwell, who noted in a 1946 essay that "political language has to consist largely of euphemism. ... Defenseless villages are bombarded from...
View ArticleEchoes Of Orwell In 'The Office Of Mercy'
It was no less than the master of dystopian fiction, George Orwell, who noted in a 1946 essay that "political language has to consist largely of euphemism. ... Defenseless villages are bombarded from...
View ArticleAlbert Camus And The Search For Meaning In The Midst Of Ebola
For months now the Ebola virus has been wreaking havoc in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. More than 700 people have died, and it seems that doctors are near-powerless...
View ArticleFor The Midterm Elections, A Book On 'What It Takes' To Win
In less than two weeks, Americans will go to the polls to vote in the midterm elections. At least, some of them will — about 40% of eligible voters, if past elections are any indication. This year's...
View ArticleIn This Collection Of Animal Stories, The Only Winner Is The Parrot
Here's the good news about Ceridwen Dovey's short story collection Only the Animals: It contains a genuinely moving story told from the point of view of a parrot. That's obviously not an easy thing to...
View Article'We've Already Gone This Far' Counts The Cost Of War
The total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to approach $6 trillion, but it will be decades before we know what we've truly lost. We have a generation that's never really known...
View Article'What Is Not Yours' Is Flawless
Most writers would give everything they own to have just one masterpiece to their name. British author Helen Oyeyemi is barely 31, and she already has at least three of them. That includes her last two...
View Article'Good As Gone' Doesn't Quite Get To Greatness
"No matter how long they've been there, the people who live out here believe that whatever life demands of them they can meet it on their own," writes Larry Watson in his new novel, As Good as Gone....
View Article'Here Comes The Sun' Shows A Complex, Heartbreakingly Real Jamaica
There aren't many lucky people in the fictional Jamaican town of River Bank, the setting for Nicole Dennis-Benn's debut novel Here Comes the Sun. A long drought has robbed many residents of their...
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