When David Cronenberg met Don DeLillo: Death and Taxes looks at the trailer for Cosmopolis. Plans tonight? Go to Printed Matter (195 10th Avenue, NY, NY, 10011) to see Diana Balmori in conversation with Publication Studio co-founder Matthew Stadler. The event is free and open to the public. Jesmyn Ward talks to Jacket Copy. “Like any long project, writing a book has ups and downs. Sometimes the words would flow easily, some days it was a real struggle.” – Rob […]
Adaptation: Five Books That Must Never Be Adapted For Film
When David Cronenberg turned William Burroughs’s masterwork Naked Lunch into a somewhat linear, entertaining narrative, literary fans everywhere were pleasantly, if not resentfully surprised. Cronenberg, in doing so, proved himself not only a master storyteller, but able to do something that few directors could, adapt dense, postmodern classic novels into solid films. On the other hand, when director Gary Walkow attempted to turn William Burroughs’s seminal novel Queer into a film by combining it with the story of Burroughs’s wife’s […]
The Week in Reviews: DeLillo moments, Alan Hollinghurst’s sympathy, Spiegelman’s trauma, and more
A weekly appreciation for the art of the review.
Morning Bites: Alice Bag’s “Violence Girl,” DeLillo talks, Gingrich as Ahab, V.C. Andrews talk, Mike Patton scores with Ryan Gosling, and more
Alice Bag, the frontwoman of the seminal LA punk band The Bags, has a new book out called Violence Girl. She talks to SF Weekly about it. How Newt Gingrich is like Captain Ahab. Don DeLillo talks to Granta. Zadie Smith, Howard Jacobson, and some other famous writers are putting out new books this year. Tonight: Edith Zimmerman, Rachel Shukert, and Emily Nussbaum reading and discussing the works of V.C. Andrews live in Brooklyn. In the event you need a Ryan Gosling fix, […]
Indexing: Jet-lag literature, Nabokov, The Believer, Edith Wharton, and more
Tobias Carroll And lo: there was the literature of jet-lag. The second time around, the strengths of William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition remained intact: haunted characters and a pinpoint command of culture. Its flaws — notably, a conclusion that effectively sidelines the novel’s protagonist — remained present. And still, Pattern Recognition may well be my favorite of Gibson’s books: a morally resonant, deeply contemporary thriller that hits nearly all of my sweet spots. (Mysterious films, subcultural intrigue, globetrotting.) Were I fond of […]
Morning Bites: Don DeLillo sitting on people, George Kuchar, cookbooks, 9/11 Truther comics, and more
A comic legend makes a 9/11 truther comic, cookbooks are books too, Adam Mansbach picking books for kids, and more in today’s news roundup.
Morning Bites: DeLillo’s “Underworld,” 10 pages of Minor, Zola Jesus, and more
Michiko Kakutani on why Don DeLillo’s 1997 “masterpiece,” Underworld, is still very worthy of your time. The first ten pages of Kyle Minor’s forthcoming book, The Sexual Lives of Missionaries, are available at Guernica. (Via HTML Giant) Maybe reconsider inviting Slavoj Žižek over to dinner? EMA and Zola Jesus cover “Crimson and Clover.” Is Larry David getting in touch with his feminine side? The A.V. Club reviews last night’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Morning Bites: Love in the Time of Jarvis Cocker, DeLillo Live, Justin Taylor, Egyptian Hip Hop and More
Jarvis Cocker promises to read some Gabriel García Márquez at the start of his weekly BBC podcast. Does he deliver? Find out. Awesome morning starter: Don DeLillo Reads from Mao II Justin Taylor spurs some good old fashioned religious debate. James Franco’s favorite Criterion films. The Huffington Post lists ten library books frequently read more than others. Nothing surprising. You want some real revolution rock? Hip hop from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria.