In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Tina Brown on Truman Capote‘s brilliant and tragic life.
In “All for Nothing,” the German writer Walter Kempowski confronts a long-simmering trauma: the plight of the country’s civilian refugees during World War II.
Heather Abel’s novel, “The Optimistic Decade,” takes a seat around the campfire of a back-to-the-land retreat for idealistic young activists in ’80s and ’90s America.
In Erin Entrada Kelly’s charming new book, “You Go First,” misfits connect long-distance via online Scrabble. Is it an escape, or the start of a real bond?
Lauren Groff, author most recently of the story collection “Florida,” sees Mr. Rochester as a villain: “He’s a sociopath who keeps his grieving wife locked in the attic and tries to gaslight poor, plain, abused Jane Eyre then marry her bigamously.”