"Revelation," by C.J. Sansom (Viking, $26) Matthew Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer living in London during the reign of Henry VIII. The year is 1543, and the king wants to marry Catherine Parr. ...more

February 1, 2009

WASHINGTON - A top Hillary Rodham Clinton fundraiser threw her support behind Republican John McCain today saying he will lead the country in a centrist fashion and accusing the Democrats of becoming too extreme. ...more

September 17, 2008

The other night I tried to read part of Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, $18) while I was very sleepy, which meant that the story, which is hard enough to follow when you're fully awake and completely engaged, took on a dreamy quality that I sort of enjoyed. After all, it sometimes reads as if Pynchon wrote the thing in a similar state. ...more

August 31, 2008