Essays are great. The talented Rebecca Solnit (above) discusses “elite panic,” among other things, in an an interview at BOMB Magazine. “Zadie Smith on the rise of the essay.“ The kind of wishy-washy title of Bob Thompson’s piece in The American Scholar, “Writing About Writers,” does not give it due justice. Please read. Lit. Thinking of gifting a newfangled, bougey little reading device called the Nook? Well, you’re outta luck. Yep, you may have to settle for the Kindle, which […]
Reviewed: The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
We don’t translate much in this country. When we do, though, what we choose usually shows pretty decent promise, naturally. While I’ll always root for more translations, it’s hard not to appreciate at least occasionally the natural sieve of the choosiness of what United States publishers choose to translate. It can be nice not to wade through (much) dredge for decent contemporary novels. Juan Gabriel Vasquez’ The Informers, which tells of a small-scale familial conflict within one of a grander weaving, betraying history, is the best “new” book I’ve reviewed all year.
Bites: A Woman’s Wit, James Franco is on Daytime TV, So What?, Aerosmith Understands the Internet, and more
The New York Times reviews “A Woman’s Wit: Jane Austen in Life and Legacy” on exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum. Lit. Even though there are approximately one billion newly published food memoirs per American second, everyone’s still obsessing over Jonathan Safran Foer and his book about that ultra-modern idea of vegetarianism. Wells Tower is also still writing for Outside Mag. According to the Rumpus, this is one example of why fiction writers make good journalists. The Guardian reviews […]
Bites: Hemingway’s African Snows, Colson Whitehead on Your Next Novel, The Virtuousness of Swiss Prisons, and more
Hemingway’s short story “The Snows of Kilimanjara” may make a resurgence in the coming years, as the African snows, once “as wide as all the world…and unbelievably white,” of the sky-high peak could be completely obsolete within as little as 12 years. Lit. Is the Internet making you illiterate? Colson Whitehead on choosing What to Write Next: play darts! The Millions has compiled a descriptive list of Difficult Books. I like this. Let’s read them. Somerset Maugham broke all the […]
Bites: So Many Wild Things, Gigantic Interviewed, Mr. Rochester is Dreamy, Nobels for the Small Press, 1989, Dirty Projectors at NYer Fest, and more
Wild Things: It’s Released! Did you know?? Pitchfork interviews Spike Jonze. We’ve All Been Wondering Lately about “What Makes a Children’s Classic.”(NYT Arts Beat) Ohmahgawd–Wild Things, Wild Things, Wild Things. Lit. This essay on the importance of the humanities is outstanding.(Harper’s) Gigantic is interviewed by Fictionaut. “But, reader, I loved him.” On Charlotte Brontë’s Mr. Rochester as the most romantic character in literature. Oh, yes. Reading!: the demand of literature From last week, The Millions on Lit’s Nobel Prize and […]
Bites: Chabon Interviewed, Granta Changes, Literary Doppelgangers, Grand Theft Auto & Inherent Similarities, Anderson to adapt Dahl, Real Chocolate, and more
Michael Chabon is interviewed at Jacket Copy on fatherhood and the writing process: “I think in a way, that’s sort of what you’re engaged in doing as a writer, too. You come into this inheritance of things that have been done and the ways in which they have been done, and people who influence you sort of pass along what they think is important, and what they think you need to know how to do. But over time you begin […]
Bites: Fiction v. Non-Fiction, Poe’s Funeral, Proust’s Questions, Lev Grossman on being a critic, Wild Things, Hornby’s Education, Nick Cave & PJ Harvey, and more
Jim Shepard for Electric Literature on the subject of fiction based on non-fiction: “We need to bear in mind, as we’ve been told many times, that we’re working from, but not necessarily about, our lives.” Lit. Edgar Allen Poe gets a real funeral. (Thanks, The Rumpus) On Vanity Fair’s website, take Proust’s Questionnaire and find out which celebrities you most resemble. Lev Grossman guest-posts for and on the National Book Critics Circle blog. Film, a Quick Weekend Roundup What will […]
Saving Salinger From Himself
Salinger is suing, as we know. Ron Rosenbaum, who revisits the “What the fuck has he been doing all these years?” question, at Slate seems to think that we the people, as some kind of right, deserve to see Salinger’s work. Most of Rosenbaum’s speculations are unlikely. Because let’s face it, we know there are finished works locked in Salinger’s freezer, and I think there’s going to be a masterpiece hidden in there. What strikes me most is the fact […]