Books
Seamus Heaney Returns to Old Haunts in ‘Human Chain’
“Human Chain,” the newest collection from Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, is filled with the sounds of different languages.
‘The Ambassador’ Buys Coat, Loses It
“The Ambassador” provides a close study of a few key days in the life of its quirky protagonist.
Portrait of an Artist: Rebecca D. Costa
Rebecca D. Costa is a sociobiologist whose first book, “The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction,” explores current ...
Mengestu Maps the Immigrant Experience
The Nigerian-American writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once warned about the danger of telling “a single story of Africa.”
Krauss Details Grieving Psyches in ‘Great House’
The most effective aspect of Krauss’s “Great House” is the unusual structure of her first person narrative, which shifts between the perspectives of her five protagonists.
Roth’s ‘Nemesis’ Explores the Ideals of Boyhood
Childhood may always be a time for epic battles of heroism; for fights between cops and robbers, between superheroes and supervillains, between best friends and playground bullies.
Free Stuff at Oktoberfest
It's Oktoberfest, which means it's time for outdoor music, arts-and-crafts browsing, general carousing, and, of course, free (and almost free) stuff.
Dreaming in Chinese
Linguist Deborah Fallows '71, speaks at the Harvard Bookstore last night about her new book, "Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language." Fallows discussed the cultural and linguistic differences she encountered while living in Shanghai. "My first experience with the language [Chinese] was nothing less than overwhelming," she said. "I could not even open my mouth."
Today in Photos (10/07/10)
Slow Food Movement founder Carlo Petrini greets audience members and signs copies of his book "Terra Madre" at the Science Center yesterday.
Literary Gimmicks Clutter McCarthy’s ‘C’
Incest, masturbation, constipation, and the letter “C” are the main subjects at hand in Tom McCarthy’s latest novel, “C.”
Donoghue Takes on the Voice of a Child in ‘Room’
The drawings of children are often populated with figures of family members, friends, and pets. For Jack, the five-year-old protagonist of “Room” by Emma Donoghue, this would be a difficult affair...
Sedaris Satirizes Nutty Animals in ‘Squirrel’
“I said that you were not conceived of mutual orgasm and that it probably affected your ability to empathize, remember?”