Holidays are nothing but traditions, and traditions should not be broken or changed lightly. Since before this magazine took its current form and name, it has been a tradition of the Life & Arts section to publish a special Christmas Books issue each December, decked with readerly riches that, along with being edifying reviews, might also serve as Christmas gift recommendations. And usually, the tradition has been to include a symposium from the staff collecting book recommendations from the year gone by. Last year, however, I broke the thread, opting instead as editor to seize the space for myself to recommend just one. I had been stopped in my tracks by a short, astonishingly beautiful novel put out by a small........

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