A Serbian British Writer Revitalizes the Novel of the Émigré Long caught between the Western imagination and the Soviet sphere of influence—much like the Balkans themselves—the novelist Vesna Goldsworthy forges something new. February 27, 2023 Briefly Noted “Cobalt Red,” “Three Roads Back,” “Evil Flowers,” and “Western Lane.” February 27, 2023 The Worlds of Italo Calvino Despite his reputation as a postmodernist, Calvino’s imagination was more in tune with pre-modern literary modes. February 27, 2023 Is Artificial Light Poisoning the Planet? A Swedish ecologist argues that its ubiquity is wrecking our habitats—and our health. February 20, 2023 A Novel That Confronts Our True-Crime Obsession In “I Have Some Questions for You,” Rebecca Makkai depicts the charms of the murder podcast while evading its flaws. February 20, 2023 Briefly Noted Book Reviews “This Other Eden,” “Daughter in Exile,” “Young Bloomsbury,” and “Morgenthau.” February 20, 2023 The Feminist Forerunner in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” The Wife of Bath, one of the most beloved characters in English literature, asked provocative questions: Why shouldn’t widows remarry? Why must we procreate? February 6, 2023 Daughters Outgrow Their Parents in Two Unsparing Novels The fiction of Gwendoline Riley ruthlessly depicts the fragile tedium of broken people who are desperate to be normal. February 6, 2023 Briefly Noted “Master Slave Husband Wife,” “How Far the Light Reaches,” “After Sappho,” and “Cursed Bunny.” February 6, 2023 Briefly Noted “Pirate Enlightenment,” “The Scythian Empire,” “The Sense of Wonder,” and “The Guest Lecture.” January 30, 2023