THE YEAR'S BEST BOOKS. What are the best books of 2002? Judging from many of the lists I've seen, Ian McEwan's Atonement and Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated are leading contenders. In the non-fiction category, the latest volume of Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson seems to be a front-runner--whether or not Michael Kinsley read the book before giving it a nod for its National Book Award. I've also heard good things about James Smith's Bad Hair, the compendium of horrific hairstyles published by Bloomsbury USA.

Another very good book that, I fear, was overlooked by many critics and readers is Jonathan Tel's Arafat's Elephant, a collection of short stories set mainly in Israel. Published early in 2002 by Counterpoint Press just as the company was disbanding, the book probably also suffered from having a relatively unknown author as well as a title that would be a turn-off for many book dealers and book buyers. Considering the escalation of Middle Eastern violence in the months following 9/11, anyone looking for escapist fiction was not likely to be sold by the lead story "A Story About a Bomb," no matter how cleverly written it and its companions were.

Nevertheless, Arafat's Elephant does not deserve obscurity because of the unfortunate circumstances of its release and its scant, albeit positive, critical reception. For readers who appreciate Escheresque literary puzzles, Tel's tale-telling--replete with doubles and caricatures--wields the surrealistic allure of a desert mirage. One review can be found at the website for the Austin Chronicle.