Anita Brookner: Brief Lives
Here is my look at Anita Brookner's 1990 novel Brief Lives, which explores aging, companionship, and longing with her usual precision and restraint.
Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain
What a happy accident reading Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain as I read the final volume of In Search of Lost Time. What a remarkable book, and I absolutely loved John E. Woods's translation.
Marcel Proust: In Search of Lost Time
"For a long time. . . " And then suddenly I find myself having read the final pages of Time Regained. Here are some brief thoughts upon finishing Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
Helene Hanff: The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
I finally read Helene Hanff's The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and it's a quiet delight. Hanff finally makes her long-dreamed-of journey to London, and records it with the same wit, warmth, and honesty that made 84, Charing Cross Road so beloved.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger: I Know Where I’m Going!
Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going! may begin as a charming romantic adventure, but beneath its light surface lies a gently profound story about fate, desire, and the seductive illusions of certainty. Criterion’s new 4K restoration brings fresh life to this wartime gem.
Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady
I’ve long admired James’s shorter works, but I finally took the plunge into one of his major novels—and it was revelatory. From the charming conversations on the Touchetts’ lawn to Isabel Archer’s fierce independence and the shadows that follow, every page felt alive. This isn’t just a novel to read once, but one to return to, full of psychology, beauty, and heartbreak.
Nancy Mitford: The Pursuit of Love
I finally read Nancy Mitford's The Pusuit of Love, a radiant, bittersweet novel that’s as funny as it is quietly devastating.
Daniela Catrileo: Chilco
A lyrical reckoning with land, love, and loss, Daniela Catrileo's debut novel Chilco, translated by Jacob Edelstein, is unsettling, beautiful, and full of quiet rage.
Elizabeth Taylor: Angel
For #NYRBWomen25 I just read Elizabeth Taylor’s 1957 novel, Angel, a brilliant character study of a delusional author and the quiet devastation she leaves behind..
Ivy Compton-Burnett: A House and Its Head
Here are some of my thoughts on Ivy Compton-Burnett’s 1935 novel A House and Its Head, a biting, dialogue-driven domestic drama that left me rattled—in the best (and worst) ways.