latimes.com - Books

'A Dream of Undying Fame' by Louis Breger

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The story of Freud's early collaboration with an older colleague and how it led to the invention of psychoanalysis.

The story of Freud's early collaboration with an older colleague and how it led to the invention of psychoanalysis.

'What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures' by Malcolm Gladwell

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The New Yorker writer's sense of curiosity burns bright in this collection of essays.

The New Yorker writer's sense of curiosity burns bright in this collection of essays.

'As God Commands' by Niccolò Ammaniti

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The hard-boiled Italian crime novel involving a robbery plan hatched out of underclass desperation is as gritty as it is suspenseful.

When it comes to crime novels, the word "grit" suggests both authenticity and earthiness -- rude language, rough humor, animality, graphic details. It's the intrusion of the body -- physical reality -- into an otherwise cerebral exercise. Grit is what reminds us that our salad grew out of the mud.

Orhan Pamuk's L.A. stroll conjures up familiar sights

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Nobel Prize-winning author and self-proclaimed 'Istanbul boy,' feels a familiar bond with Los Angeles' old-fashioned urban scape.

The Nobel Prize-winning author and self-proclaimed 'Istanbul boy,' feels a familiar bond with Los Angeles' old-fashioned urban scape.

'Invisible: A Novel' by Paul Auster

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Multiple levels of meaning and identity figure in the author's new novel about a dying man remembering his student days.

Multiple levels of meaning and identity figure in the author's new novel about a dying man remembering his student days.

'Time' by Eva Hoffman

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The author's daunting task -- to dissect this universal constant -- is too far ranging and hobbled by a topic that's difficult to define.

The author's daunting task -- to dissect this universal constant -- is too far ranging and hobbled by a topic that's difficult to define.

Off the Shelf: Maud Newton's life - a novel, not a memoir

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The reasons why one writer's self-explorations take fictional form.

When I was 12, I emerged from an intense depression by imagining the book I'd write about the things that had caused me to take to my bed.

Word Play: Going global

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Interested in more than what the U.S. children's market has to offer? Here are new imports from British, Dutch and French authors.

Interested in more than what the U.S. children's market has to offer? Here are new imports from British, Dutch and French authors.

'Open' by Andre Agassi

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A literate and absorbing chronicle of the tennis star's lifelong search for identity and serenity, on and off the court.

A literate and absorbing chronicle of the tennis star's lifelong search for identity and serenity, on and off the court.

'Winter's End' by Jean-Claude Mourlevat, translated from the French by Anthea Bell

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The apocalypse, from a young adult point of view.

Pity the poor orphaned teenagers of "Winter's End." It's your pity they're going to need, for the deck has long been stacked against them.