Arts & Life
John McCalleyBig And Beautiful: Best Gift Books of 2009
()Reviewer John McAlley selects gems from the worlds of fine art, fashion, photography, science, lit-crit and cartoons. These luxe volumes will be gracing coffee tables long after the lights and wrapping paper are gone.
- Hardcover Fiction:
#1 'The Lacuna' - Hardcover Nonfiction:
#1 'Open' - Paperback Fiction:
#1 'Olive Kitteridge' - Paperback Nonfiction:
#1 'Three Cups of Tea'
What We're Reading
What We're Reading: Nov. 24 - 30, 2009()
November 24, 2009 This week, Michael Crichton's last book, ever, sails the seas of pirate adventure. In story collections: Alice Munro's strong and subtly mysterious women; Ha Jin's immigrants caught between two worlds. And a space-program history finds surprising drama in the unmanned voyages.
Asia
In China, Creating A Menagerie Through Mimicry()
November 24, 2009 Professional mimics in China used to imitate sounds as a form of entertainment. Not many practitioners are left, but one family is trying to preserve the art. Cheng Jiaqiang, who learned his skills from his grandfather, has a barnyard repertoire but specializes in bird songs.
Movie Reviews
Exploring The Politics Of 'Defamation'()
November 24, 2009 Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir's documentary is a bracing inquiry into arguments about the prevalence of anti-Semitism today. If the filmmaker displays an anthropologist's openness to complicated truths, he also has a contrarian's impish appetite for the opposing view — the more intemperately expressed the better, it would seem.
Author Interviews
The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family'()
November 24, 2009 A secretive fellowship of powerful Christian politicians includes some names that have recently been prominent in the headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Writer Jeff Sharlet describes the men's involvement with the Family, and discusses recent developments within the group.
Recipes for the Holidays
Pass The Dessert: America's Thanksgiving Recipes()
November 24, 2009 For many of us, Thanksgiving is linked to memories of turkey, stuffing and cranberry dressing. But a culinary history of the "other" American holiday shows that a rich variety of desserts have been in and out of fashion over the decades. Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen features Thanksgiving favorites from days gone by.
Movies
John Hillcoat, Chasing Humanity On A Grim 'Road'()
November 24, 2009 Based on Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Hillcoat's new movie is a dystopian tale of survival in a physically and morally ravaged world. The director talks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about the challenges of visualizing a post-apocalyptic landscape — and why the bleak tale is really a story of human goodness.
The Picture Show
Tim Burton's Drawings On Display()
November 20, 2009 By Claire O'Neill Tim Burton is probably the only person who could get away with using a monster's mouth as the entrance to an art exhibition. You know him for his films Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Of all film director-pr...
Theater
'The Vibrator Play': Why Yes, It Is About Exactly That()
November 21, 2009 Any short list of important young American playwrights would have to include Sarah Ruhl, who at age 35 has had work performed at major theaters around the country. She made her Broadway debut Nov. 19, with a period drama called In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play. But as Jeff Lunden reports, it's as much about intimacy and honesty as about sexuality.
Television
Larry David's Dysfunctional Family Reunion()
November 23, 2009 The seventh season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm capped a year-long storyline about Larry finally agreeing to a produce a reunion episode of Seinfeld which he co-created with Jerry Seinfeld. TV critic David Bianculli explains how both programs — the show and the show within the show — were a comedic coup and a perfect end to the season.
Movie Reviews
'Broken Embraces': The Very Picture Of Romance()
November 20, 2009 Brace yourself: Things are about to get meta. Pedro Almodovar's latest picture strings a colorfully knotty love story across layers of dark film-within-a-film intrigue. Complex of plot, deft in its blending of comedy and melodrama, and a treasure trove of golden-age movie references, the film is what you might call a lushly tragic lark — a heartfelt, if not quite heartbreaking, paean to romance and to the romance of cinema. (Recommended)
