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  • Adam Thirlwell: Politics: A Novel (P.S.)

    Adam Thirlwell: Politics: A Novel (P.S.)
    One would think this book is about sex, And while it is, since the characters have so much about it, some of it is kinky, and threesomes play a big role in the narrative. mostly POLITICS is about everything else: the mechanics, the logistics, the emotional minefields, the awkward questions, the moral dilemmas, and, well, the politics of what it is to be with someone you love or someone you don't, and how an act that should be simple is anything but. Thirlwell was disgustingly young when he wrote this but he absolutely understands that to make this book work, there must be an underlying sweetness and sincerity to the entire story. Now I want to see what he's up to more recently. Amazon | Indiebound | B & N | Borders | Powell’s

  • Jennifer Mascia: Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir

    Jennifer Mascia: Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir
    Years ago I was blown away by Mascia's Modern Love piece describing her parents' secret past: her father was a mobbed-up convicted murderer, and her mother not only knew all about it, but aided and abetted her husband when life required being a fugitive, selling drugs, and living at great highs and crushing lows. Mascia's book tells a more whole story about her peripatetic life, and even with every new shocking revelation what remained consistent was how much she loved her parents, no matter how deep those lows went, and how much she misses them now that they are gone. Unconditional love never goes away, no matter if those who receive it deserve it. Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | B & N | Powell’s

  • Juli Zeh: In Free Fall

    Juli Zeh: In Free Fall
    Give me a novel of ideas and if the story is good and the characters are believable and entertain me, I am there. Give me a crime novel of ideas, where two physics professors, friends and rivals, opposites but startlingly similar, do emotional battle on an intellectual canvas, raise the stakes through betrayal, the possible kidnapping of a child, and embroil a romantic-leaning police detective in the complicated machinations of quantum theory, and holy hell, I think I have myself one of my favorite books of the year. Powell’s | Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | B & N

  • Simon Lelic: A Thousand Cuts

    Simon Lelic: A Thousand Cuts
    It appears to be a crime with an easy solution: a disgruntled schoolteacher shoots up his place of employment and kills several students in the process. But really, Lelic's novel is about the catastrophic consequences of bullying, and how this act is hardly limited to kids turning on other kids, but burrows deeply into adult relationships as well. He evokes empathy for the killer and sympathy for Lucia, the investigating officer who has to fight for every scrap of dignity as she pieces together the far more complex truth of what really happened at the school. Powell’s | Amazon | Borders | Indiebound | B & N

  • William Lindsay Gresham: Nightmare Alley

    William Lindsay Gresham: Nightmare Alley
    I cannot stop raving about this book to people. The circular narrative structure, the demented feel of a traveling carny troupe, and the extraordinary rise and precipitous fall of Stan Carlisle give off the persistent, raging feeling that hell is always with us, and success is basically a sucker's game. No matter what the biographical evidence on Gresham's state of mind leading up to and after the book's bestseller (and movie basis) status in 1946, I don't think we can really know what demons plagued him to produce this marvelous noir gem. B & N | Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s

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« This is only a test | Main | Full disclosure, or why I sometimes wish I were Marilyn Stasio »

August 08, 2005

Smatterings

The Manchester Evening News chats with Jeffery Deaver, crime writer and dedicated foodie.

Clea Simon reports on the latest effort by James Lee Burke for the Boston Globe.

Patrick Anderson shines a light on a new book that deals with an American spy amidst Britain's Cambridge Spy Ring. Interesting stuff, and yet more proof of the truth-stranger-fiction continuum.

The Hugo Award winners have been announced, and like Ed, I think it's muy cool that Kelly Link won for Best Novella (I really have to track down her newest collection, MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS.)

And on more awards: Lee Goldberg reports on the SoCal chapter of MWA's Marlowe Award, given out this year to Stephen Cannell.

And finally, since the topic du jour is Peter Jennings' death, I thought I'd link to some local coverage -- he got his professional start in Ottawa, after all. 

Posted at 09:30 AM in Literary minded |

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Comments

christin

i was honestly so sad to hear that this morning, about Peter Jennings. I even paused The Today Show (though I should've had on GMA, since that was his network...) while I was in the shower so I could watch it while I got ready. Ah Tivo. How I love you. Anyway this is about Peter Jennings. he was a great broadcaster and had immense talent and poise. I loved watching him.

Posted by: christin | August 08, 2005 at 05:48 PM

Jeanne Ketterer

I watched Peter Jennings for the 9/11 coverage because he managed to remain calm. I recall his 'call your children' remark. I really felt sad when I first learned of his cancer -- I just knew it wouldn't be long, but still ...


Jeanne

Posted by: Jeanne Ketterer | August 08, 2005 at 11:55 PM

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