Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: More 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.

Pauline O'Connor highlights LA's literary scene after-hours.

The List takes a look at the new Ian Rankin exhibition in Edinburgh and asks the author to concoct a list of his very own.

Raina McLeod chats with Walter Mosley for the Miami New Times.

Slate's Fall Fiction Week has been running a plethora of interesting essays, from Gerald Howard on editing Gordon Lish, Sarah Schulman on her novel's undue neglect, and Josh Glenn solving a century-old literary mystery.

Hank Steuver appreciates Robert Goulet, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 73.

As the Canadian dollar continues to kick the US dollar's ass, Wal-Mart Canada is the latest retailer to sell books & magazines at US list prices. Indigo did the same earlier this week.

David Geffner writes of Jim Thompson's lost Hollywood years for Moviemaker magazine.

The latest interviews on the Bat Segundo front: Richard Russo & Oliver Sacks.

Congratulations to Declan Burke, whose new novel THE BIG O will be published in the US by Harcourt.

And finally, Meryl Streep as Julia Child? Sure, but then again, any and all film & tv deals reported are hypothetical because of the looming strike.

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Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

Crime fiction, and more.

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November 01, 2007

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