In our morning reading: interviews with Ishmael Reed and Talking Heads, Blake Butler on Jon Fosse, and more.
“The Ground Didn’t Stop Moving Beneath My Feet”: Hermione Hoby on Writing “Virtue”
Class and privilege; morality and identity. These are all themes that have fueled novelists and storytellers over the years. But it’s difficult to think of a novel that’s used them in quite the same combination as Virtue, Hermione Hoby‘s new novel. At its center is a young man named Luca, who works as an intern at a prestigious literary magazine and falls into the orbit of two successful artists, Paula and Jason, who are several years his senior. Hoby’s novel offers a stunning take on recent history and a haunting look at interpersonal connections. I spoke with Hoby via email to learn more about how Virtue came to be.
Names, Thrills, and Sociopaths: Tom Lutz on Writing “Born Slippy”
Earlier this year, I interviewed writer Tom Lutz at the Strand. The occasion was the release of his new novel Born Slippy, the story of two men — Frank, a self-taught carpenter, and Dmitry, an ambitious and amoral figure — whose paths cross again and again over the years. What begins as a wry character study slowly becomes a moral thriller along the lines of Graham Greene, making for a thrilling read. Before our event, I spoke with Lutz at a nearby coffee shop about his novel’s genesis, his work with the Los Angeles Review of Books, and more.
Morning Bites: Saeed Jones, Nobel Prize Reactions, Patrick Earl Ryan, Henry James on Film, and More
In our morning reading: thoughts on Saeed Jones’s memoir, a trailer for a new Henry James adaptation, and more.
The Last Days of Henry James
You have a little over a week left to go and check out Henry James and American Painting at the Morgan Library. A series of paintings of and by the people that James was influenced by and those he influenced with his work.
Morning Bites: Salter on Matthiessen, 2014 Pulitzer Prizes, Gay Talese Interviewed, Robin Black, and More
James Salter on Peter Matthiessen, Gay Talese talks with Rachel Syme, thoughts on Owls’ new album, and more.
The Reading Life: The Terrible Poster for What Maisie Knew
I want to apologize publicly to all the strangers I have run into on the street while texting someone, emailing someone, or not paying attention to traffic lights, where I was going, or really anything that isn’t my phone. It’s a problem I have: I’m a multi-tasker, for lack of a prettier word. I am a sucker for appliances with several uses—it chops and it dices! I like combination exercise classes—it’s yoga and it’s rock climbing! When I cook, I […]
Indexing: Talking “Veep,” Awesome Tapes From Africa, Jac Jemc’s “My Only Wife,” Unreliable Narrators, Benjamin Disraeli, And More
Items of interest from Vol. 1 contributors.