Books and literature

NEW YORK -- The seed for one of the best musicals on Broadway this season sprang from an off-hand comment.Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire asked a friend about his newborn niece and was told she was like a wise old woman trapped in a baby's…

MEXICO CITY -- The opening credits of “Wakanda Forever” fittingly say “introducing Tenoch Huerta.”What an introduction it’s been.Huerta’s role as Namor in the “Black Panther” sequel has wowed audiences, catapulting him onto the global stage…

It's been a bumpy year for video games, in part thanks to the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic. Some major releases got delayed (2023 could be a doozy), but enough crossed the finish line to keep gamers happy. Indie developers held up…

“A Dangerous Business” by Jane Smiley (Alfred A. Knopf)After a fall publishing season filled with Big Books by John Irving, Cormac McCarthy and Barbara Kingsolver, to name just a few, it’s refreshing to read this taut tale from Pulitzer…

NEW YORK -- It was a delicious challenge that came as a total surprise.As choreographer Annie-B Parson tells it, she was walking down a Brooklyn street when her phone rang. It was the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Peter Gelb,…

NICE, France -- French writer Dominique Lapierre, who was celebrated for his historical work on the World War II struggle to liberate Paris and a novel depicting a life of hardship in a Kolkata slum in India, has died. He was 91. Lapierre…

STOCKHOLM -- French author Annie Ernaux who won this year's Nobel Prize for literature, said Tuesday that men need to change their attitudes now, before women attain full equality with them.“Because if men do not become aware of their body,…

“Three-Edged Sword,” by Jeff Lindsay (Dutton) After the Cold War, former Soviet spy Ivo Balodis built himself a fortress in an abandoned missile site on an island in the Baltic Sea. There, he has continued to deal in secrets — but for…

NICE, France -- French writer Dominique Lapierre, who was celebrated for his novels about the World War II struggle to liberate Paris and depicting a life of hardship in a Kolkata slum, has died. He was 91. Lapierre died Friday, a local…

NEW YORK -- A copy of what's being called Stephen Sondheim's first original cast recording has been found on a misplaced CD, capturing the legendary composer's budding skills in a student-led musical while at Williams College in…