Laurent Binet's latest novel is at once a lecture, a detective story, and an exploration of the limits of fiction.
language
Dreaming in Israel
In Aharon Appelfeld's novel, a teenage Holocaust survivor sleeps, remembers, and learns to speak anew.
John Simpson's new memoir is about words. More significantly, it’s about our relationship to them.
Speaking of the cross
Much of what Christianity has long been saying about the cross of Christ is problematic. So what is to be done about it?
A fast-growing number of people do not have a religious first language. And many churches don't seem eager to connect with them.
Those who heard the disciples preach on Pentecost comprehended the message in their own language. But that was only the beginning.
In John's prologue, the incarnate Word is the God of creative address.
Learning a language requires us to focus our attention on something outside ourselves. It's a lot like learning to pray.
My Italian is rusty. When I go to church in Rome and try to follow along, I'm reminded of Woolf's "incessant shower of innumerable atoms."
The best outcome of the tensions in Ukraine would allow the country to develop its unique role as a bridge between languages and cultures.