The Namesake

The Namesake

Rating:  The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Houghton Mifflin Company (2004), 291 pages. This is a very well-written book in which nothing happens. Now, I have no gripe against a quiet book in which the point is merely to appreciate its evocative and...
Lavinia

Lavinia

Rating:  Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Mariner Books (2009), 284 pages. Rome has not yet been founded; it doesn’t even have a name but is referred to at times as the village of Seven Hills, where only a few farmers and shepherds live. To the southwest, on...