Arts

Excerpt: 'The Last Embrace'

The Last Embrace works as literary film noir: There are bombshell babes, unsavory gangsters, and — of course — a grisly murder.

Excerpt: 'The Race Card'

Are rampant claims of discrimination clouding our discussions of social problems and race? Law Professor Richard Thompson Ford examines abuses of the so-called "race card" while looking at wider problems of institutional racism.

Excerpt: 'Hungry for Paris'

Paris: the city of lights, the city of love, and — maybe most importantly — the city of food. Alexander Lobrano of Gourmet magazine samples the gastronomical delights of over a hundred Parisian restaurants, creating a guide that would satisfy any foodie.

'First Stop' Captures Lurid, Vibrant Mexico City

Half shantytown, half boomtown, the teeming and complex Mexican capital defies coherent description. David Lida's sharply drawn vignettes are expansive and vivid — like the city itself.

Vignettes And Characters Shift In 'Chameleons'

In The Book of Chameleons, a gecko narrator weaves fragmentary tales of invented pasts into a story of charming airiness. The prize-winning Portuguese novel is set in post-civil war Angola.