- If there’s an author named Kate, chances are that she’s been interviewed for The Bat Segundo Show in the past month. This week will see an onslaught of Kate-themed podcasts, carefully timed with this week’s Katharine Weber love at the LBC.
- The World Fantasy Awards nominations are now up. Regrettably, the greatly overrated Lisey’s Story has taken one of the Best Novel slots. But a certain Mr. Rowe made the list. And Jeffrey Ford has two nominations!
- Oh no, Maud, it’s The Book of Revelation hands down. And I can also make a strong case for The Insult. I’ll be sure to offer more vociferous words on the subject if you track me down in person this Friday at McNally Robinson, where the big Rupert T himself will be there.
- Jennifer Weiner, who I hope is okay, demonstrates the needless chicklit-like covers being applied to literary heavyweights.
- Here’s one longass Tony Wilson interview.
- Holy shit! There’s a new Old Curiosity Shop film adaptation. Who the fuck’s playing Quilp? And is it now okay to laugh when Little Nell dies? No heart of stone here, I assure you.
- The San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Jim Hopper gives Joe Haldeman some love.
- The Globe & Mail investigates David Markson.
- Is Jonathan Ames a pugilist or a novelist?
Late Afternoon Roundup
– August 13, 2007Posted in: Roundup
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (
Well, as I say, “The Book of Revelation” is one of my favorites. I used to love “The Insult” best of all, but it hasn’t held up as well for me on multiple readings.
See ya Friday!
“Air and Fire” was my first Thomson novel, and I admire it greatly for its western noir-ish story and the control he had over his prose and his historical subject matter. “The Book of Revelation” is an amazing, highly concentrated work.
Divided Kingdom is my sentimental favorite—it’s the first Thomson book that I read—but The Book of Revelation is my regular favorite. I do like the new book. Ed, what did you think?