In our afternoon reading: revisiting the music of This Heat, new comics from Lincoln Michel and John Dermot Woods, and much more.
The Poetics and Pain of Brandon Hobson’s “Where the Dead Sit Talking”
Like the tone of my favorite guitarists, some authors possess voices I immediately recognize. Brandon Hobson belongs to that list. Gloom, bizarre events, and beautiful-yet-unpretentious writing are the translucent shellac covering of a style that hides a raw, beating heart full of longing at it’s center. In Where the Dead Sit Talking, Hobson is once again in fine form, delivering a lyrical, somewhat brutal, and very touching coming of age story set in rural Oklahoma in the late 1980s.
Morning Bites: Alexander Chee, Sheila Heti’s Latest, Revisiting “Liquid Sky,” Brandon Hobson, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with Alexander Chee, thoughts on books by Sheila Heti and Brandon Hobson, and more.
Storytelling About Storytelling: Brandon Hobson on Writing “Where the Dead Sit Talking”
With each new novel, Brandon Hobson has created a complete universe, with a distinct tone and voice. His latest novel, Where the Dead Sit Talking, tells the story of Sequoyah, a troubled Cherokee teenager who winds up living with a foster family after his mother is jailed. It’s a quietly devastating book, full of character struggling to understand their own troubles and connect with those around them. It also marks a significant shift from the surreal urban spaces of Desolation […]
Morning Bites: Brandon Hobson’s Recommendations, Tomi Adeyemi, Aaron Gilbreath Nonfiction, Digable Planets, and More
In our morning reading: book recommendations from Brandon Hobson, nonfiction by Aaron Gilbreath, and much more.
Morning Bites: Brandon Hobson Interviewed, Marilynne Robinson, Michel Faber Fiction, Kathe Koja Revisited, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Brandon Hobson, new writing by Michel Faber and Lance Olsen, and more.
Morning Bites: Brandon Hobson’s Latest, Maggie O’Farrell, Chicago Bookstores, and More
In our morning reading: reviews of books by Brandon Hobson and Maggie O’Farrell, Volumes Bookcafe holds a fundraiser, and more.
Vol.1 Brooklyn’s February 2018 Book Preview
Welcome to February. When looking at the books we’re most excited about for this month, it’s difficult to find a common thread. There are revelatory books that help explain some of the most contentious issues of our time; there are also surreal works of fiction that turn the familiar into the utterly bizarre. These are narratives that unfold in unexpected ways, whether real or imagined–and whether the corners of the world that they illuminate are urgent or obscure, they offer […]