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In Fact: Essays on Writers and Writing, by Thomas Mallon (Pantheon, 352 pp., $26.95)
It's hard to decide whether Thomas Mallon is a better fiction writer or essayist, because he's so good at both. The appearance of In Fact, a delightful and eclectic collection of previously published criticism, won't settle the matter, but it will provide more proof that Mallon is one of the great literary talents at work today. The most interesting parts of In Fact-and they are all interesting, even when Mallon discusses authors and books his own readers have no intention of reading-come when he describes the art of the historical novel, that place where fiction and nonfiction converge and where Mallon has spent much of his career staking a reputation. On the ...