Nadia Kalman
Problems with Authority
Paul Goldberg’s latest novel, The Dissident, is a narrative tour de force that plays far too fast and loose with the historical facts, leaving its readers deeply misled.
Spiritual Survival
In 1960, the novelist Vasily Grossman wrote to then-premier Nikita Khrushchev with an unusual intention. He wished, he wrote, to “candidly share my thoughts” with the most powerful man in a country that often murdered bearers of candor.
In (Partial) Defense of Doublethink
How does one survive psychologically under the control of chaotic evil? Take Evgenia Ginszburg, for example . . .
Mashed Potatoes and Meatloaf
From overly familiar ingredients, Joanna Hershon has concocted something that is both satisfying and unexpected.
The Improbables
Not writing what you know can help an author steer away from autobiographical shoals, but it puts a certain research burden on the writer.
Forget Remembering
Rutu Modan’s graphic novel The Property explores the uneasy coexistence of love and death.
Who Owns Margot?
What if Anne Frank’s sister had survived Bergen-Belsen? Interesting, but . . .
A Neoplatonic Affair
As the tapestry of Hillel Halkin's first novel unfurls, we see how perfectly each part fits into the larger pattern.
Brother Daniel, Sister Ulitskaya
Ludmila Ulitskaya's fictionalized version of the Brother Daniel case asks us all to turn the other cheek.