Mordecai's Version

"'Its true, I've always been attracted to characters who demonstrate, first and foremost, an appetite for life. People who try to enjoy their life and who realise they are only making one trip . . . I find it much easier to write about con men and I have for a long time. It's much easier than writing about saints, who tend to be very boring.'"

In The Telegraph, Martin Chilton revisits Mordecai Richler’s oeuvre.

Hanging Out

"Buildings once strove for solidity—not merely to be stable but also to look stable, hence the optical corrections in ancient Greek architecture such as entasis, a subtle tapering of columns that makes them appear more settled to the human eye. Even the Empire State Building tapers as it rises, as if to assure us that the tall structure will not tip over. Not anymore."

Witold Rybczynski in Slate assesses the vogue for "tottering towers."