Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: Labor Day Weekend Update

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.

NYTBR: Jim Lewis considers Denis Johnson's new novel TREE OF SMOKE; Kathryn Harrison has a reluctant take on Chelsea Cain's much-hyped thriller HEARTSICK; Liesl Schillinger is disappointed with Marina Lewycka's novelistic take on migrant life; and Pagan Kennedy's essay illustrates just how far behind the curve the NYTBR is. To quote from the cover story of the NYT Magazine: "MySpace is over, it's just not cool anymore; Facebook is still cool, but that might not last much longer; and the biggest thing...is word of mouth." Say it louder, kids.

WaPo Book World: Louise Bernard gets wrapped up in the powerful story Chris Abani tells; Ron Charles is bowled over by Brock Clarke's literary satire; and Susan Adams has her say on a slew of new memoirs.

LA Times: David Ulin has a mixed take on Denis Johnson's long-awaited new novel; Scott Timberg ponders the riddle of the reclusive author; Irina Reyn delves deep into the child-soldier world of SONG FOR NIGHT; and the Book Review celebrates the 50th anniversary of ON THE ROAD.

G&M: Andy Lamey looks at books on all things animal welfare; Keith Garebian is absorbed by Howard Engel's amazing story of triumph over neurological disorder; and Margaret Cannon reviews new crime fiction by Kathy Reichs, Barbara Cleverly, Ken Bruen, Faye Kellerman, Don Easton and the Ross Macdonald compendium by Tom Nolan.

Guardian Review: Zadie Smith reveals how much Zora Neale Hurston means to her; Jonathan Lethem describes his myriad trips to the dance floor; and AM Homes pays tribute to the late Grace Paley.

Observer: The broadsheet does its version of overlooked and underrated writers; Tim Adams follows the path set by Hari Kunzru's exploration of 1960s radicalism; Ronan Bennett talks about what it was like to write his latest novel, ZUGZWANG, to a weekly deadline; and two Booker-longlisted novels by Indian writers are compared and contrasted.

The Times: Germaine Greer plumbs the depths of Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway; count Giles Whittell as another fan of TOKYO YEAR ZERO; and Ian Rankin's final novel, EXIT MUSIC, gets reviewed by Marcel Berlins and John Dugdale.

The Scotsman: Richard Bath thinks the last Rebus novel marks a strong finish to the beloved series; a new book describes the thriller-ish plot against Samuel Pepys; Tom Adair gets VS Naipaul to sit down and chat; and Gerald Kaufman reviews recent crime offerings by Donna Leon, Peter James, Lesley Cookman and Greg Iles;

The Rest:

The incomparable Eddie Muller returns with his crime fiction column for the SF Chronicle, which - at least this week - is very noir-heavy on books by Charlie Huston, Zoe Sharp, Cornel Woolrich and a certain Mr. Spillane.

Susanna Yager reviews new crime novels by RJ Ellory and Rupert Holmes for the Telegraph.

Kim Wozencraft is thoroughly entertained by Alison Gaylin's thriller journey into Hollywood, tabloid-style.

The Denver Post's Diane Hartman meets Diane Mott Davidson, author of the Goldy Schultz recipe mysteries.

Dreda Say Mitchell shows a different side of London to the Independent's Christina Patterson.

Nancy Pickard chats with the St. Louis Dispatch about her long mystery writing career as well as her most recent novel THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS.

Matthew Pearl reveals the difficulties of writing historical fiction for BostonNow.

If you're in the vicinity of Lincoln Center on September 27, Adrian Wootton's lecture on David Goodis is a must-attend. (thanks, JH!)

The Philly Inquirer has a double dose of bloggers as Scott Esposito reviews Ryszard Kapuscinski's final book and Ed Champion finds much to discuss about Warren Ellis's first book.

Noted in many places, though I saw it at The Rap Sheet: Saddlebums' interview with Robert Randisi.

And finally, is Coney done for now? If you were there this past weekend, like I was, it sure felt that way.

Comments

Has anyone else noticed that Margaret Cannon gets the name of Bruen's book wrong.

She calls it Aftermath.

Posted by: Brian Lindenmuth | September 04, 2007 at 12:33 PM

I'm amazed at that Rick Rubin profile quote that Facebook was still "cool". It's "cool" like an Elks' Club hall is cool.

Indeed, I think the NYT has done several pieces about manufacturing word-of-mouth-coolness.

Dwight Garner is cool, though. I (heart) his blog, mostly.

Posted by: jaze | September 04, 2007 at 08:44 PM

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September 03, 2007

Labor Day Weekend Update

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