SOURCE: “Seasoning Love,” in Nation, January 26, 1998, pp. 29–32.

In the following review, Simon offers a positive assessment of A Lover's Almanac, noting its stylistic similarities to Natural History.

About your arcade. You do see the pathos and pretension of the great Parisian arcades popping up in Bridgeport—your little glassed-over alley!

—Maureen Howard, Natural History

Once celebrated as a hallmark of America's cheery future, its robust inner health, the suburb has fallen from grace. No longer do aluminum siding, pink shutters and identically plotted lawns signal comfort and ease. These are the trappings of the Doll House (as in “Welcome to …”), the setting for key parties and other signs of marital decadence and cultural malaise. The Bradys are not a happy memory of family blending, before race, gender and Reaganomics got in the way; they are a symbol of our collective delusion. What we thought was success was really...