Gray Lady sideshows don’t get any more navel-gazing than this Will Self trip to New York. Witness a “writer’s journey” as Self adjusts his technological device, adjusts his technological device while trying to cadge a flame (Self has now obtained a beverage!), is asked to pose in front of a Xmas display, still can’t find anyone to light his cigarette (cruel New Yorkers!) while ensuring that his books aren’t being sold for under a dollar (the technological device has returned and must be fiddled with some more! does it contain his Post-Its?), realizes that his bottled water is unsatisfactory (but is hep hep HEP thanks to Jay), is hassled by the photographer as he attempts to eat his lunch, examines a man jumping to his death from the Brooklyn Bridge in broad daylight, and has a near heart attack when he learns how expensive cigarettes are in New York.
Discuss with Class:
1. What is Mr. Self’s journey?
2. Why is there not a single computer or typewriter or pen in any of these photographs?
3. Did Mr. Self enjoy his meal and his bottle of water? And why should this matter?
4. Should the photographer be fired?
5. Was this silly photo session a quid pro quo for a Book of Dave review?
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. (
The Times often gets lost when it ventures out of its backyard. The mapped trip from the hotel to 1 Centre St is less than 15 miles. Self’s 26-mile walk from home to Heathrow may also have been estimated by the Times. Examination of a London map suggests it could be done in about 17 miles.