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Memoir Lives Life As A Widow Anne Roiphe was so dependent on her husband she literally didn't know how to open the front door without him. In her memoir of widowhood, she also remembers how he told her, years before he died, that he felt their marriage had been so strong, she would be able to find happiness again. A Furious Voice, Forged In The 'Fire' Of Prejudice Jamaican-American novelist Michelle Cliff's essays — urgent, stripped of lyrical excess, discomfiting but illuminating — bear witness to a rough life that has shaped a radical, powerful and essential artist. French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, says there are two periods in Le Clezio's work: it was more experimental in the 1960s and '70s, and later it featured traveling and exoticism. Celebrating Grace Paley's Uniquely Feminine Voice Writer Alix Kates Shulman remembers the 1960s as an age where men dominated the literary scene — that is, until Grace Paley's quirky urban voice and modernist short stories began to challenge the notion of what constituted great reading. Chef Jeff's Redemption Story Jeff Henderson rose from Los Angeles' mean streets to become the executive chef at two top Las Vegas hotels, and wrote a best selling memoir. Now he aims to pass on what he's learned to other struggling young adults in a new reality TV show titled The Chef Jeff Project. French Novelist Wins Nobel Prize In Literature The Swedish Academy praised Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays, non-fiction and children's literature. His work is often about wanderers, people on a quest for meaning and grappling with national histories. Controversy Embroils Nobel Literature Prize Even before the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature was announced Thursday morning, it was drawing attention — for the wrong reasons. Last week, a Nobel official seemed to nix the possibility of an American winner when he said, "Europe still is the center of the literary world ... not the United States." 'Goldengrove' Traces The Contours Of Grief Nico, the 13-year-old narrator of Francine Prose's new novel, struggles to deal with the loss of her older sister. With her parents barely able to cope, Nico must navigate grief and growing up alone. Grief — And Growing Up — In 'Goldengrove' When her sister drowns, 13-year-old Nico must navigate grief and growing up at the same time. Francine Prose's Goldengrove captures the confusion of adolescence tenderly and without condescension. Le Carre Tackles Terror In 'A Most Wanted Man' John le Carre, a one-time British intelligence officer, has been writing spy stories for more than 40 years. In his latest novel, he explores the complexities of the war on terror. Kenya Detains Author Promoting Anti-Obama Book Kenyan authorities have deported Jerome Corsi, the author of The Obama Nation: Leftists Politics and the Cult of Personality. Immigration officials said he didn't have a work permit. Corsi was detained at his hotel and ordered to leave the country. The Prose Of Adolescence, And Sudden Loss In Francine Prose's new novel, Goldengrove, a sister's sudden death leaves a young girl adrift. Prose is the author of 15 previous novels, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, as well as the nonfiction book Reading Like a Writer. Sarah Vowell Finds Humor In Puritan History Think the Pilgrims were all straight-laced seriousness and tight buckles? Think again, says author Sarah Vowell. In her new book, The Wordy Shipmates, Vowell explores the lively history of America's ancestors. Just who were those folks living in the "shining city on a hill"? Farewell Opus; Hello Pete, The Perfectly Practical Pig After 30 years, cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is bidding adieu to his charming, politically astute penguin of Bloom County and Opus. His new project is Pete & Pickles, a children's book about a very sad pig. Artist Macaulay Decodes Body In 'Way We Work' Best-selling author and illustrator David Macaulay takes a head-to-toe trip in The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body. He says illustrating how we work was so difficult, he almost gave up.