Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself with words. Wash yourself away. Dissolve. Carol Shields Republic of Love

Cynthia Ozick’s Foreign Bodies (2011)

It’s 1952, in the hottest summer that Paris has had since before the war.

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize 2012

Beatrice writes to her brother, Marvin, saying “Paris was terrible”, and she has little else to report.

She has travelled there, at Marvin’s request, to look for Marvin’s son, Julian.

But although there were [...]