Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andreï Makine

There is a tune, for which I’d gladly part
With all Rossini, Weber, and Mozart,
An ancient air, whose languid melody
Has secret charms that speak only to me*…
We’ve all had them, those dreams whose intimations of life are so strong that we can see, smell, and embrace someone we love and long for just as they slip [...]

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Exit Ghost

When last October’s Atlantic hit the doorstep, I whisked past the cover displaying Bill Clinton’s unsightly mug and scoured the index for something to banish sight of him. What to my eyes should appear but the lead-in for a withering review by Christopher Hitchens of Philip Roth’s latest novel, Exit Ghost. I’ve read Hitchens for [...]

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