A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists, 1854-1967 by Rachel Cohen 388pp, Cape
Brief encounters: John Banville is charmed by Rachel Cohen’s study of American artistic friendships, A Chance Meeting . . .
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Heresies: Against Progress and Other Illusions by John Gray 200pp, Granta,
Beyond dentistry: John Gray highlights faith in progress as the fundamental error of our age in his collection of essays, Heresies, says John Banville . . .
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Strange meeting: When J S Bach met Frederick the Great the Middle Ages collided with the Enlightenment. Sparks fly in James R Gaines’ Evening in the Palace of Reason . . .
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Truth: A Guide for the Perplexedby Simon Blackburn 210pp, Allen Lane
Whose truth? John Banville follows Simon Blackburn on the ultimate philosopher’s quest in Truth . . .
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Beckett Remembering, Remembering Beckett, edited by James and Elizabeth Knowlson
Beckett on the couch: James and Elizabeth Knowlson’s collection of interviews, Beckett Remembering, Remembering Beckett, gives a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the great dramatist, says John Banville . . .
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Everyman by Philip Roth 192pp, Jonathan Cape
Grave thoughts from a master: A blank style masks the magical craft of Philip Roth in Everyman, says John Banville . . .
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The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of a Universe by Michael Frayn 704pp, Faber, £20
Making ourselves up: John Banville enjoys Michael Frayn’s lesson on the appeal of uncertainty . . .
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Buy Black Mass at the Guardian bookshop
Rocky road to utopia: John Gray’s brilliant analysis of religion in politics leaves John Banville invigorated despite its bleak truths . . .
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Sketch of Van Gogh’s painting The Bedroom, sent with a letter to his brother, Theo, 16 October 1888. Van Gogh Museum
A remarkable new edition of Vincent van Gogh’s letters reveals him to be an artist inspired as much by joy as despair, discovers John Banville . . .
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llustration by Clifford Harper/agraphia.co.uk
John Banville admires Andrew O’Hagan’s act of canine ventriloquism . . .
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