A modern-day 'War and Peace'

MODERN-DAY 'WAR AND PEACE': Some are calling Péter Nádas' new novel just that. Joshua Cohen profiles him as part of New York magazine's Fall book preview. Speaking about the narrative of his stories, Nádas tells Cohen: "My narrative mode and rhythm are not organized by closure but determined by an open form. It would be nice to believe that life begins with birth and ends with death. If that were the case, I’d probably tell well-shaped, rounded little stories. Instead, I’m interested in how these stories are interconnected, or how they remain ignorant of one another, unaffected by one another, lying side by side."

Quoted on the second page, he says: "We can distribute around the world only goods, methods, technology, and financial artifacts; the colorful juxtaposition of the most various cultures, religions, and forms of life remains. The globalization of the world means we can only accept parallel worlds when we recognize and understand their histories." This should really be headlined as a 'quote of the day', shouldn't it?