Books

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'John le Carré'

Adam Sisman's new biography of le Carré—cartoonist, actor, mimic, linguist, expert skier,and spy—is intelligent, thoroughly researched, and tediously repetitive.
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'Beatlebone'

Barry’s new novel—featuring John Lennon as protagonist—meditates on place, grief, and longing, ranging across a century’s worth of literary and popular references.
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'The Road Not Taken'

Many take Frost’s 'The Road Not Taken' as an American affirmation to choose one's own path. But in David Orr's reading the twenty-line poem is instead about limits.
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'Pure Act'

It is the purpose Michael N. McGregor’s biography of Robert Lax to move him out from under the shadow of Merton’s personality and give him his own place in the sun.
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'Shakespeare and Abraham'

In Ken Jackson's reading, Abraham points to the possibility of offering a truly generous gift, a gift for which one would hope for nothing in return.
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'The Good Book'

Writers engage biblical texts ranging from the Psalms to a single parable.Their essays are wildly heterogeneous in tone and method, kind of like the Bible itself.
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