What the world is reading
Fantasy, prison and history are some of readers’ current preoccupations
THERE are two things to notice in the current fiction tables. In the German list, J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic, “The Lord of the Rings”, has conjured its way in at number ten, perhaps in the wake of Tolkienish Harry Potter, which dominates the top four slots. Third on the American list (from which Potter is excluded), Anne Tyler's novel “Back When We Were Grownups” (reviewed in this week's issue) shows she can write popular literary fiction of the highest order.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “What the world is reading”
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