Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: Smatterings

Picks of the Week

Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a nifty debut, cleverly told and unfurled from the very first line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements" on through meeting "the man who calls himself David Loogan." There are reasons for concealment, just as there are reasons the editor of a mystery magazine bearing little resemblance to EQMM or AHMM might bring him into the fold, thus catalyzing a series of murderous events. The twists come quickly and the dialogue is sharp and if it falls apart slightly at the end, no matter - I want to read much more from Dolan from now on.
Ian MacKenzie: City of Strangers: A Novel
MacKenzie's debut novel reminded me a lot of Paul Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY, whether it was intended or not, in terms of his choice of words, the thrust of the narrative and the existential nature of the main character (whose first name, incidentally, is Paul) caught up in a snowballing sequence of strange and violent events in and around New York City. MacKenzie straddles the line between thriller and internal examination of a man's failings, and his ability to do so establishes him as a young writer of serious talent and future.
Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep
In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well.
Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
Understandably, echoes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE are hard to ignore in this dystopic examination of a society where fertility is so high a priority that older, single, marginal women are shut away in secret locales to live out the rest of their lives in seemingly perfect harmony - at least, until the "donations" begin. But Holmqvist's marvelous book doesn't browbeat her thesis into the reader and smartly expands her ideas to look at the plight of all marginalized folk, women and men alike, and how the promise of comforts can be the most horrifying of all. Prepare to be disturbed, but prepare further to think about the ramifications.
Paula Froelich: Mercury in Retrograde
This is possibly the most perfect novel for today's economically challenged times. Why? Because it has plenty of glitz and glamor and blind items, as befitting a narrative by the deputy editor of Page Six, but Froelich isn't arch or snarky or acid-tongued in the slightest. Her trio of protagonists land in all manner of embarrassing situations but they aren't played for mean-spirited laughs. The New York here is something of a fantasy-land, but not so far off the mark that it's completely unbelievable. Most of all it's clear Froelich remains sincere and optimistic about her chosen city, and has retained her sense of fun. So no need to check your brain at the door, but sometimes it just needs to chill out and relax.

August 28, 2007

Smatterings

Jon Evans ponders the future of reading for the Walrus, and puts his money where his mouth is (so to speak) by making one of his novels, an urban fantasy novel starring New York's finest wildlife, available on his website free of charge.

The Rap Sheet has news of a long-lost novel by Edward Bunker that No Exit Press is publishing next month. Cool news indeed!

At Tangled Web, Bob Cornwell talks with Peter Temple about being a longterm expat, Australian crime fiction and the appeal of Joe Cashin.

Christopher Shea at the Boston Globe has more to say about James Wood's jump to the New Yorker.

All week long Colleen Mondor is organizing "Recommendations Under the Radar," a slew of pieces on underrated YA authors hosted by several blogs.

When I first heard about this I referenced Dorothy Parker on A.A. Milne to a friend, but realized this was a better reaction.

Joseph Weisberg, whose novel AN ORDINARY SPY comes out on January, explains the difference between secret and classified information (which is helpful, because as someone who has looked at "classified" documents that are available in the public domain without the blackout bars, I wondered what certain government agencies were smoking with regards to privacy issues. Oh, and link via.)

Only in the 60s, kids, only in the 60s. Though now I think I want one, dammit.

The embedding is disabled, unfortunately, but how could I not post this???

And finally, one of the most troubling cases in Canadian history may come to the proper conclusion - but even then it wouldn't be enough.

Posted at 09:30 AM in Literary minded | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451af9169e200e54ed27bdf8833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Smatterings:

Comments

This reminds me of the new Ford book - Ford and The American Dream by Clifton Lambreth - www.thefordbook.com

Posted by: Mr Carman | August 28, 2007 at 11:41 PM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by: |

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type:

Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

Crime fiction, and more.

About

Follow Me

Picks of the Week

Archived Picks

Archives

Categories

The Harem of Cabana Boys

...And Cabana Girls, Too

Crime Fiction

They Write, They Blog

The Lit Brigade

The Idiosyncratic Part

Stats