Carlos Lozada is an Opinion columnist and a co-host of the weekly “Matter of Opinion” podcast for The Times, based in Washington, D.C. He is the author, most recently, of “ The Washington Book: How to ...

If you’re confused by a turn of phrase in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” or a startling metaphor in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” just ask the book to explain itself, and it will.

Gerd Stern, who has died at 96, formed a lifelong bond with Allen Ginsberg and Carl Solomon. Ten years ago, he wrote about ...

Richard Flanagan, Booker Prize-winning novelist, was raised and lives in Tasmania. His new book, “Question 7” (Knopf, $28), ...