By Edward Champion – December 3, 2007Posted in: Roundup
A brief goose-step from deadline dancing for some afternoon discoveries.
Due to considerable labor I needed to apply elsewhere, I had to bow out of the Litblog Co-Op. But I’m pleased to observe that they’re back in action this quarter, having selected Matthew Eck’s The Farther Shore as their Read This! pick.
Some great news for Vollmann fans. Vollmann and Madison Smartt Bell have both been awarded the Strauss Living Awards. They will both receive $50,000 a year over the next five years to devote themselves to writing. Hopefully, in Vollmann’s case, this will help him finish up the remaining three dreams left in his Seven Dreams cycle.
I thought the same thing, Dan. In fact, MSB was the first guy to pinpoint Vollmann’s very specific form of narrator — the guide that was inspired from Poe and Lautreamont. (No other contemporary novelist that I know of does this.)
Tom B.
Posted December 3, 2007 at 5:08 PM
Hurrah! I’d been waiting for the MacArthur folks to give Volmann a grant, but this is a great alternative.
Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz: Being wrong, as it turns out, isn't just the other variable in a binary opposition. Indeed, the relationship between our beliefs and the vast body of knowledge is one of humanity's big problems, but, at times, one of its great virtues. This thoughtful volume outlines numerous examples of human folly, from end-of-the-world prophets to ocular misperception, and makes a strong case for becoming more transparent about human fallibility, even when the results can be quite deadly. (Bat Segundo interview)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orrigner: This sweeping epic, which has been rightly identified in some corners as a "Holocaust page turner," puts to rest any and all rumors that the historical novel is dead. Orringer's great talent for balancing fine Romantic details, a vigorous synthesis of prewar Paris and Magyar strife, and Nazi brutality demonstrates a remarkable evolution from her previous short story collection, How to Breathe Underwater, and makes this a must read. (Bat Segundo interview)
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black: Forget Wells Tower. Robin Black's marvelous short story collection, which has been needlessly ignored by The New York Times and The Washington Post, is very much on the level: far better than anything written by that lumbering Young Turk. These subtle stories have the maturity to avoid belabored metaphors and neat conclusions, revealing numerous nuances about the human condition in its careful use of understated language. (Bat Segundo interview)
Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz: Being wrong, as it turns out, isn't just the other variable in a binary opposition. Indeed, the relationship between our beliefs and the vast body of knowledge is one of humanity's big problems, but, at times, one of its great virtues. This thoughtful volume outlines numerous examples of human folly, from end-of-the-world prophets to ocular misperception, and makes a strong case for becoming more transparent about human fallibility, even when the results can be quite deadly. (
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orrigner: This sweeping epic, which has been rightly identified in some corners as a "Holocaust page turner," puts to rest any and all rumors that the historical novel is dead. Orringer's great talent for balancing fine Romantic details, a vigorous synthesis of prewar Paris and Magyar strife, and Nazi brutality demonstrates a remarkable evolution from her previous short story collection, How to Breathe Underwater, and makes this a must read. (
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black: Forget Wells Tower. Robin Black's marvelous short story collection, which has been needlessly ignored by The New York Times and The Washington Post, is very much on the level: far better than anything written by that lumbering Young Turk. These subtle stories have the maturity to avoid belabored metaphors and neat conclusions, revealing numerous nuances about the human condition in its careful use of understated language. (
Very interesting as MSB was the first person I ever heard extolling the virtues of Vollman’s writing.
I thought the same thing, Dan. In fact, MSB was the first guy to pinpoint Vollmann’s very specific form of narrator — the guide that was inspired from Poe and Lautreamont. (No other contemporary novelist that I know of does this.)
Hurrah! I’d been waiting for the MacArthur folks to give Volmann a grant, but this is a great alternative.