The novel begins with the death of the troubled actress, apparently from an overdose of sleeping pills. Immediately, questions surface: Were all the medications on the nightstand prescribed? If she did take her own life, where was the drinking glass for the water to wash down the pills? Contradicting the title, the authors then shift …
Few writers have seen their work reinterpreted as much as Jane Austen’s. “We all encounter Austen differently and from the position of where and when we read her,” writes the scholar Jennie Batchelor in the book’s introduction. “How we read her changes as the world changes around us.” This anthology, a melange of fiction, poetry, …
As with the high wire, these stories require close attention; they should be read slowly and carefully. They seem to have been written that way, every step deft and deliberate. Take the opening title story. Its narrator is “I,” and he’s addressing “you” about their young son. The first reference to the titular alligator is …
It’s 1945 and World War II is effectively over in Europe. Two American GIs, Nick Genova and Joe Cohen, have fought their way up the Italian Peninsula and are now on leave in Milan. The two New Yorkers are so close that they’re known as a single unit called “Brooklyn.” Nick has heard about a …
Endingen Mole is an orphan living a quiet existence, using checklists provided by Madame Victoria, the only other mole he knows. One fateful day, his cupboard falls down, revealing a map that triggers long-buried memories and compels him to re-evaluate his solitary routine. He creates an adventure checklist that includes a visit with Mr. and …
The Glory Peak Ski Resort is founded in 1966 by Bill Macklemore, a World War II veteran–turned–ski instructor who developed a site near Fortooth into a premier skiing destination (it is said that “Fortooth was one of those towns where reality was far more potent than myth”). His devotion to his business is so all-encompassing …
What does it mean for the world to end? Spanish author Levi’s novel takes up that question both literally and figuratively. Largely structured as 19-year-old narrator Little Lea’s tale of her life, which she’s recounting to a man in search of his lost dog, this novel reckons with the appeal and dangers of home. “I …
