Dictation: A Quartet Book

Ozickâ??s latest work of fiction brings together four long stories, including the novella-length "Dictation," that showcase this incomparable writerâ??s sly humor and piercing insight into the human heart. Each starts in the comic mode, with heroes who suffer from willful self-deceit. From self-deception, these not-so-innocents proceed to deceive others, who donâ??t take it lightly. Revenge is the consequence—and for the reader, a delicious if dark recognition of emotional truth. The glorious novella "Dictation" imagines a fateful meeting between the secretaries to Henry James and Joseph Conrad at the peak of those authorsâ?? fame. Timid Miss Hallowes, who types for Conrad, comes under the influence of Jamesâ??s Miss Bosanquet, high-spirited, flirtatious, and scheming. In a masterstroke of genius, Ozick hatches a plot between them to insert themselves into posterity. Ozick is at her most devious, delightful best in these four works, illuminating the ease with which comedy can glide into calamity. Read More