Humane Literature and the Divided Soul

Humane Literature and the Divided Soul

The Divided Soul: Duty and Desire in Literature and Life By Heidi White. Goldberry, 2025. Hardcover, 238 pages. $29.00. Reviewed by Gary Hartenburg. Heidi White’s debut book, The Divided Soul: Duty and Desire in Literature and Life, unites a memoir in fragments with a...
William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

By Bill Meehan. As his centennial year comes to a close, I’d like to advocate for a useful way to look back on the life and work of William F. Buckley Jr. Known mostly for his television show Firing Line and his journal of opinion National Review, the American public...
The Other Greek Woman

The Other Greek Woman

Regarding Penelope: From Character to Poetics, Second Edition By Nancy Felson.  Harvard University Press, 2025.  Hardcover, 220 pages, $24.95.  Reviewed by Jesse Russell. Until the recent fascination with Cleopatra VII, Helen of Sparta / Troy has been the most readily...
Suicide Narratives and the Goodness of Being

Suicide Narratives and the Goodness of Being

Suicide in Modern Catholic Literature By Martin Lockerd. Cascade Books, 2025. Paperback, 196 pages, $27. Reviewed by John Ehrett.  Around the world, assisted suicide—now going under the perverse euphemism “MAID,” or “Medical Assistance In Dying”—has become a...
Mark Twain Revisited

Mark Twain Revisited

Mark Twain  By Ron Chernow. Penguin Press, 2025.  Hardcover, 1,200 pages, $45. Reviewed by Chuck Chalberg. Let us stipulate at the outset that Ron Chernow has indeed covered the Twain waterfront in this massive volume. How could he not? Twain appears “Afloat” in Part...