Related Articles: I suspect that a feeling for stories, for narrative, is a universal human disposition, going with our powers of language, consciousness of self, and autobiographical memory. —Oliver Sacks Introduction I was, like lots of other readers, bowled over by Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl when I read it shortly after its publication in […]
Announcing Life Stories in Literature Read More »
Behind The New York Times’ Blake Bailey Bombshell And the fallout continues over the allegations against Blake Bailey, author of the biography of Philip Roth that was canceled this week by publisher W.W. Norton. A publishing executive’s rape allegation against the Philip Roth biographer sent shockwaves through the industry—and put the Times’ handling of it
This month we begin with Beezus and Ramona in memory of its author, Beverly Cleary. This 1955 novel introduces one of Cleary’s beloved characters, Ramona Quimby, through the eyes of her five-years-older sister, Beezus. I always find writing about children’s literature difficult, probably because I’m so far removed it. Although I did enjoy reading this
6 Degrees of Separation: Hurray for Siblings! Read More »
Between the post-publication recall of Blake Bailey’s biography of Philip Roth and the cancelation of contracts for upcoming political books, my head is spinning. This will probably be quite a rambling discussion, because I am truly of two minds on these kinds of issues. ‘There Is a Tension There’: Publishers Draw Fire for Signing Trump
What a Crazy Week in Publishing! Read More »
How Crime Writers Can Reimagine Public Safety Without Police “The next wave of crime fiction could help shape the public imagination of what a world where police weren’t in charge of public safety could look like.” Historically, crime fiction has portrayed the police as heroes. But that vision of law enforcement is becoming hazier for
Captivating Novels about Astrology In her introduction to this list, Laura Maylene Walter, author of the novel Body of Stars, calls herself “a skeptic who doesn’t read horoscopes in my daily life.” But, she continues, “hand me a work of fiction about astrology or psychics, and I’m captivated.” Many of the books on this list
Imagine a phone call featuring an electronic voice telling you that your child has been kidnapped and you need to pull together some huge sum of money to get the child back unharmed. I used to think that would be one of the most horrifying calls parents could ever receive. But I was wrong, as
How Learning About Psychology Helps Me Understand Literature Read More »
They Are Giving Hemingway Another Look, So You Can, Too Gal Beckerman, an editor at the New York Times Book Review, talks with Lynn Novick and Ken Burns about their three-part series on Hemingway currently airing on PBS. The documentary filmmakers were drawn to Hemingway because of his complex status as both an influence on
This month we start with the 2020 Booker Prize winner, Shuggie Bain by the Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart. The novel was also a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. Goodreads describes Shuggie Bain as “an epic portrayal of a working-class
6 Degrees of Separation: From “Shuggie Bain” to “This Tender Land” Read More »
Beverly Cleary, beloved and prolific author of children’s books, dies at 104 Obituary from the Los Angeles Times. Larry McMurtry, Novelist of the American West, Dies at 84 Obituary from the New York Times. I Always Write in the Past: The Millions Interviews André Aciman Here’s a fascinating article in which André Aciman talks about
