Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: Something in the Way of a 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: George Packer on the V.S. Naipaul biography; Charles Taylor digs the new short story collection from Stephen King; Kevin Kelly examines the way screens are changing the printed word; and Matt Weiland remembers the long-forgotten THE CHICAGOAN (although, this being a New York publication, why not fond memories of, say, CUE?)

WaPo Book World: Yehudah Mirsky looks at books on the revival of Modern Hebrew; Michael Dirda reads a newly discovered WWII diary; Steven Moore jumps on the "2666 is a masterpiece" bandwagon; and Ron Charles is bowled over by Stewart O'Nan's latest tome.

LA Times: Heller McAlpin ponders death as a hot literary topic; Nick Owchar returns with a new, Merlin-themed Siren's Call column; and Carolyn Kellogg has some give and take with Salvatore Scibona's THE END.

G&M: Mary Roach is fascinated by the memoir of a gravedigger; Cynthia McDonald has her say on THE GIVEN DAY; and yup, another Bolano rave.

Guardian Review: Maya Jaggi meets Nobel winner Jose Saramago; David Lodge pays tribute to his friend Simon Gray; and Laura Wilson reviews new crime fiction by Inger Ash Wolfe, David Roberts, Nick Brownlee and Jean-Francois Parot.

Observer: Robert McCrum wonders how Obama will change the literary landscape; Robert Collins enjoys the George Pelecanos-edited BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES; and Ian Rankin describes his fantasy life as a rock star.

The Times: Tom Gatti meets up with Art Spiegelman; Ian Stewart plays the numbers game; Lucy Atkins is unsettled by Ruth Rendell's latest; and Patrick Heren is gobsmacked by the extraordinary life of Wanda Jablonski.

The Scotsman: Gerald Martin on a new biography of Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Susan Mansfield gets in the trenches with Kate Adie; and Marion Sauvebois is frustrated with the last MORIARTY book by John Gardner.

The Rest:

Oline Cogdill has the details on Margaret Maron's recent award by the state of North Carolina and also reviews Bob Morris's new crime novel.

The Columbus Dispatch talks with P.F. Kluge about his academia-set mystery GONE TOMORROW.

Jeff Johnson at the Chicago Sun-Times has his say on Michael Black and Julie Hyzy's mystery collaboration DEAD RINGER.

Leonard Cassuto sings the praises of STRANGERS ON THE TRAIN in the Wall Street Journal.

Joanne McNeil reviews Malcolm Gladwell's OUTLIERS in the Washington Times.

Everything that touches Charles Sohbraj ends up being really strange and weird.

And finally, well, WTF.

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Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

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November 23, 2008

Something in the Way of a Weekend Update

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