Maurice Timothy Reidy is an associate editor at Commonweal magazine.

Bright Young Thing

Conor Oberst, the lead singer and creative force behind the band Bright Eyes, is one of those ridiculously accomplished young people who make you wonder…

A Novel Approach

Good novels rarely make good movies, but author Richard Russo has somehow defied the odds. The film based on Nobody’s Fool captured the tenderness and…

Growing Pains

Toward the end of Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the Jacques Cousteau-esque oceanographer (played Bill Murray) and his crew finally finds the…