Offers a candid portrait of the Italian people in a collection of pieces describing events and topics that highlight life in contemporary Italy.

"Nobel Prize winner Saul Bellow has deservedly been celebrated as one of America's greatest writers. For more than sixty years he stretched our minds, our imaginations, and our hearts with his exhilarating perceptions of life. Here, collected in one volume and chosen by the author himself, are favorites such as 'What kind of day did you have?,' 'Leaving the yellow house,' and a previously uncollected piece, 'By the St. Lawrence.' With his larger-than-life...

"A story of loss, family secrets, and how the darkest truths are often hidden nearest to you."-- "The deepest secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves in this richly atmospheric, compellingly written, and expertly constructed crime debut from an emerging talent. Derbyshire, 1978: a small town in the idyllic English countryside is traumatized by the kidnapping of two young schoolgirls, Rachel Jones and Sophie Jenkins. Within hours, Rachel is found...

"Jesus, the Son of God. Buddha, the enlightened one. Two of history's most important figures whose sagely deeds have been told and retold. After a few millennia of helping humanity, they have decided to take some time off and rent an apartment together in modern-day Tokyo. But even their saintly status hasn't fully prepared them to navigate the ups and downs of life in 21st century Japan, from theme parks, to shopping for rice cookers, to the...