The Problem of Iran: reviews of The Increment by David Ignatius and Banquo’s Ghosts by Rich Lowry and Keith Korman

With Iran so much in the news these days, it is perhaps unsurprising that two spy thrillers involving this topic should appear so close together. That both books are well written and worth reading is a bit more unexpected.

David Ignatius, a reporter for the Washington Post, is the author of several best-selling thrillers, including Body of Lies, which was...

Wanting by Richard Flanagan

Richard Flanagan’s latest novel is an engrossing and evocative exploration of desire and its effects, both positive and negative. It also examines how ideas about desire inform the dichotomy of civilization vs. savagery. Although that may seem heavy, the book is anything but dry. Flanagan uses the intertwining stories of two extremely different characters to great and humanizing effect.

In the first story, set in Tasmania in the 1830s, a young...