Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel  by Yann Martel. (Spiegel & Grau, 224 pp. $24) To get something out of Beatrice and Virgil, a reader must engage

In a hidden corridor, tucked away between two nondescript buildings on Tel Aviv’s Ben Yehuda Street, is a striking procession of larger-than-life painted aluminum figures.

In one of Maira Kalman’s self-portraits, a lopsided pair of blue eyes peers out of a penciled face cradled by a fur-collared coat. Black galoshes

This season’s stack of mystery books with either Jewish sleuths or Jewish stories is big enough to keep you reading through the rest of the