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One of the late John Updike’s most impressive critical strengths is that he was one of the few high profile reviewers who regularly commented, with perception and equanimity, on fiction in translation.
Read Moreby Peter Walsh “Architecture is to make us know and remember who we are.” —Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe (1989) Harvard University’s Shad Hall: Can a building predict the future? Twenty years ago, the completion of Shad Hall, on the Harvard Business School campus, created a stir. Even for Harvard, the place was shrouded in deep secrecy.…
Read MoreBy Bill Marx In a recent World Books podcast I talk to author and book critic Helen Epstein about two new memoirs that share intriguing similarities and differences. Both are written in English by émigrés living in North America, but very much planted in other cultural traditions.
Read MoreDoes it matter that posthumous literary darling Roberto Bolaño fibbed about his past? by Tommy Wallach My World Books review of “2666” A couple days ago, “The New York Times” published an article suggesting that Chilean novelist and posthumous literary darling Roberto Bolaño may have fictionalized aspects of his own biography. In question are two…
Read MoreBy Harvey Blume “The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America,” Riverhead Books. $25.95. Steven Johnson’s new book is as dull and dispiriting as much of his previous work has been eye-opening and exhilarating. In the past, even if Johnson’s conclusions were questionable — as with the high…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb One of the most engrossing concerts in ages took place on January 22 in the new 365-seat Distler Performance Hall at Tufts University, thanks to tenor Charles Blandy and pianist Linda Osborn-Blaschke. No Schubert. Schumann, Brahms or Wolf. Instead we were treated to an entire program of rarities, most of which I…
Read MoreNorman Manea wants a nuanced moral reckoning of the sins committed in the Stalinist past. by Bill Marx In a recent World Books podcast I talk to Romanian-born essayist and novelist Norman Manea about his article, “A Lasting Poison,” which was published last month in the “New Republic.” In his commentary, Manea explores the recent…
Read Moreby Bill Marx Brain Snuggles with Violin at The World’s Studio In my latest World Books podcast, which includes video coverage, I examine evolving international views of the relationship between neuroscience and the arts, with a special emphasis on the healing powers of music for those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. The Longwood Symphony Orchestra recently…
Read MoreBy Bill Marx Novelist Ha Jin — “Only through history can history be conquered.” On my latest World Books podcast I talk to writer Ha Jin, who in 1985 left China to attend Brandeis University. Since then he has written five novels, including “Waiting” which won the National Book Award and “War Trash,” the recipient…
Read MoreBy Caldwell Titcomb NEW YORK CITY–Nearly thirty years ago – 14 December 1979, to be exact – the estimable Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) opened at its off-Broadway venue a play by one of its actors, Samm-Art Williams. Entitled “Home,” the production proved one of its major hits, and was extended thrice its scheduled run to…
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