Novelist Byatt delivers twice the value
Some writers tell us about things: pencils, coffee cups, bicycles, chairs, clouds. Other writers describe states of mind, the abstract thoughts and vague yearnings that flow or lurch or otherwise...
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Nobel natterings: let the barfight begin
Let the bar fights begin: Mario Vargas Llosa? You gotta be kidding me. Of all the categories in which Nobel Prizes are awarded, none gets the blood going quite like...
Nobel natterings: let the barfight begin
Let the bar fights begin: Mario Vargas Llosa? You gotta be kidding me. Of all the categories in which Nobel Prizes are awarded, none gets the blood going quite like...
Critic’s Eye: Arts don’t fade amid fall light
Fall is the season of pumpkins, pretty leaves and paradox. The paradox is this: How can a time of the year so closely associated with loss — rivers shrink back,...
One for the books: The literary life of Stephen J. Cannell
Stephen J. Cannell -- the surname rhymes with "flannel" -- was best known for the scores of TV series that he either dreamed up or produced or wrote. Often, he...
One for the books: The literary life of Stephen J. Cannell
Stephen J. Cannell -- the surname rhymes with "flannel" -- was best known for the scores of TV series that he either dreamed up or produced or wrote. Often, he...
Critics: Who needs ’em?
First, a statement of fact: To be a critic, you must be a know-it-all. Or as my sister, the one who's fed up with my pontificating, prefers to flesh out...
Ken Follett fumbles epic-length WWI story
For soldiers in World War I, life in the trenches was a daunting, perilous ordeal. We cannot possibly understand what that felt like — the strain, the discomfort, the sense...
Canceled TV series still enthrall
No more will Lilly Rush ( Kathryn Morris) bring justice to the restless ghosts of unavenged murder victims. No more will Charlie Eppes ( David Krumholtz) squint at a marked-up...
Fall book highlights: Bellow letters, Morrison novel lead charge
Contemplating the literary life in Chicago is like taking your place in the world's best cafeteria line: Just keep moving and, sooner or later, you'll see a little bit of...