Fiction

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't." — Mark Twain

• Life During Wartime

  Mahmoud Saeed's "A Portal in Space" recalls an Iraq of moderate religious life, rule of law, and middle-class aspiration.

  Michael AgrestaFeb 26, 2016

  • Fiction

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  Fact-Checking Mark Twain

  Are the journalism and the tall tales by Mark Twain one and the same?

  Cara BaylesFeb 20, 2016

  • Fiction

  • Literary Criticism

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  Los Angeles, Fresno, and the Misanthrope

  Not just another dark Hollywood satire: Aris Janigian and his "Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont."

  Jordan ElgrablyFeb 18, 2016

  • Fiction

• Revelation or Hallucination?

  Sigal Samuel keeps us guessing in her first novel.

  Robert CreminsFeb 17, 2016

  • Fiction

• Gushing and Gleeking

  Carly Hallman maps out a surreal and wobbly moral universe in her bold debut, "Year of the Goose."

  Jamie FisherFeb 16, 2016

  • Fiction

• A New Way of Looking: Colum McCann and the Empathy of His Fiction

  The embrace of otherness, of stepping outside the self, typifies Colum McCann's career.

  Ruth GilliganFeb 15, 2016

  • Fiction

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  Reading Madame Bovary in the Provinces

  "Madame Bovary" — a text that, together with Camembert, Côtes du Rhône, and French kissing, may stand as one of France's most enduring cultural exports.

  Birger VanwesenbeeckFeb 14, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Fiction

  • Literary Criticism

• Marriage in Meltdown

  What emerges most powerfully from "The Longest Night" is a kind of quiet wonder at how a person can come to exist in another.

  Catherine SteindlerFeb 11, 2016

  • Fiction

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  The Armageddon of New China

  László Krasznahorkai's "Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens" chronicles a pilgrimage in search of the authentic China.

  Michael LaPointeFeb 11, 2016

  • Fiction

• The Russian Soul: Janet Fitch on Eugene Vodolazkin

  "Laurus" is no seamless dream of Russia's past but a very clever, self-aware contemporary novel that nevertheless holds that dream deep in its heart.

  Feb 11, 2016

  • Fiction

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  Book of Revelations

  Rachel Cantor's "Good on Paper" is an exploration of the chasm between languages and people.

  Sara WorthFeb 10, 2016

  • Fiction

• Humans, Unleashed

  In "The Dogs of Littlefield," Suzanne Berne deftly balances social satire with the psychological insight and deep unease that will be familiar to fans.

  Sariah DorbinFeb 7, 2016

  • Fiction