Orwellian. Kafkaesque. Both terms are universally recognized shorthand for certain types of tales. Yet the terms are bandied about all too often. While the title of Detective Story by Imre Kertész calls to mind some noir novel, it is far more faithful to Orwell and Kafka than most other books for which those authors are […]
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History, particularly ancient history, isn’t an American strong suit. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if watching 300, a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in 486 BC, is perhaps the lengthiest encounter much of that movie’s audience has had with Greek history. It’s an even safer bet that far fewer were aware that a […] It is the actions of the masses, not great men, that truly shape history, Leo Tolstoy argued in War and Peace. Support for that theory might be seen in Lijia Zhang’s “Socialism Is Great!”: A Worker’s Memoir of the New China. Zhang’s book is a personal memoir, not a political one. That’s why it is […] At least in name, Georg von Trapp achieved international fame as the father of the family portrayed in The Sound of Music musical and film production. How accurate that character was has been challenged by von Trapp’s family. One aspect was right: von Trapp was a retired naval officer. Not only did he serve in […] “In what part of the universe does this guy’s mind reside?,” I asked when I reviewed Kris Saknussemm’s first novel. I’ll admit that his latest, Private Midnight, brings him closer to our universe. But his is still more than slightly bent. Saknussemm described that first book, Zanesville, as “techno-theological post-American monster vaudeville.” Private Midnight is […] |
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