Joan Didion ponders her daughter's life in spare prose that is at once insightful and depressing.

Julian Barnes's new novel is a philosophical mystery that morphs into a morality tale.

Sidney Callahan on the drama of human happiness

The author A. G. Mojtabai shows how nearly impossible it is to satisfy the longing for holiness.

A new volume from one of America's most revered poets

The life of Caravaggio is as starkly dramatic as the paintings he made.