Matthew Gavin Frank, while stumbling through a rainy market in Alba, Italy, encounters a “tiny knuckle of a man” who, via near-wordless verve, reinvents the fig.

Well, it’s official: after 37 years on this planet– 37 years of being chased by homicidal maniacs, trapped in mazes, falling off cliffs, forgetting how to drive stick while the steering wheel comes off in my hands as I navigate particularly treacherous mountain roads, having my teeth fall out when I show up late for [...]