Notes and comments

He smiles and nods slightly, like an actor, and they simply stare at him, their faces like masks, he thinks, those tribal masks in the Metropolitan Museum that are always a little disturbing to visit, because they suggest ceremonies and superstitions that are passionate and dangerous. He has always taken care to keep such thoughts from his waking life. --

ANALYTIC HOUR: How Do You Feel About That? by Alec Wilkinson, in the March 16, 2009, issue of The New Yorker