I wasn't prepared for how striking the visuals of the second issue of O&S are---Natalia Fabia's "Leopard Sky" in particular. Natalia may be the only pI wasn't prepared for how striking the visuals of the second issue of O&S are---Natalia Fabia's "Leopard Sky" in particular. Natalia may be the only person who has a legitimate use for glitter anymore. I was also smitten with Robert C. Jackson and Victoria McKenzie's canvases. I definitely recommend folks buy a copy instead of downloading the PDF. I'm ordering several (of course, I have a vested interested: in in it!). But I also enjoyed the poetry, especially Bob Hicok (a Guggenheimer), Cathryn Cofell, and Brooklyn Copeland. A really arresting magazine that's getting great press. Next issue: November 1....more
I met Erik here on GoodReads and we've had a lot of nice conversations, some of them about books, some of them about Cornhuskers. Those with canny eyeI met Erik here on GoodReads and we've had a lot of nice conversations, some of them about books, some of them about Cornhuskers. Those with canny eyes will notice that he was generous enough to give an enthusiastic review to one of my books, so I need to be upfront and preface my comments here with a statement: I do not logroll. Nuff said.
The pleasure of reading A Mother's Tale lies in the suspense. The back book jacket promises "one of the most astonishing endings in recent fiction," so inevitably readers begin from Paragraph 1 trying to predict what will constitute said astonishment. This can be a burden for a novel to carry, for some smarty-pants readers will inevitably say "I saw it coming all along," regardless of whether or not they did. In all honesty, I didn't see the ending coming, and forty years of reading have given me a pretty intuitive eye for the Big Wrap-Up Coming Down the Road. I was certainly guessing---wrongly---thanks to what strike me as some clever red herrings. (Or maybe I've just taught for too long and sniff for foreshadowings). So I invite other readers to test the book out for this. My guess is you won't predict the ending either.
A second danger of writing a narrative that promises a wallop at the end is that character becomes subordinate to the pushing through of plot. That's not the case here. In fact, the plot unfolds through the voices of the characters, which are offered in multiple first-person perspectives a la As I Lay Dying. (Erik will claim The Sound and the Fury as his inspiration, but A Mother's Tale names each after after the character telling it, just like Dying). There are a trio of characters here: a daughter, a mother, and a mysterious man discovered in their yard. Each voice is distinct, lyrical, and rhythmic. I especially appreciated how the voice of Jimmy (the daughter) avoided the twin perils of writing as a rural teenager: there are no faux hillbillyisms (dialect) of the Huck Finn variety, nor are there what I call "anointed-adolescentisms" in which a "touched" young person offers saint-like insight into hypocrises we adults are too corrupt to appreciate. Instead, the voice is delightfully shorn of attitude and naifdom and therefore feels authentic. I also loved the chapter that details Jimmy's mother's background---it reveals the mystery of just who Jimmy's father is and, in retrospect, explains the ending.
And now a paragraph to really show I'm not logrolling: If I were forced to mention a few things I might object to---just to prove my objectivity---I would say some of the motifs associated the rural setting are maybe too familiar. I myself would have avoided any mention of strippers, Jesus, and clotheslines. Then again, those things are woven deep in the fabric of country life, and to take them out is a little like taking the I out of Indiana (or the ask out of Nebraska). They're part of the idiom.
In short, a well-constructed novel, compelling in characterization, and deft in the way it teases the reader into partaking of the suspense. Highly recommended. ...more
Very handsomely designed publication. Emma Trellis did a great job bringing together a diverse group of voices---her own, Rich Villar, Mia Leonin, andVery handsomely designed publication. Emma Trellis did a great job bringing together a diverse group of voices---her own, Rich Villar, Mia Leonin, and Virgil Suarez, whose time at LSU ended just about when I washed up there. And yes, I was flattered to be asked to write a review of Oscar Hijuelos. How Menendez Publishing manages to produces so much good stuff is a mystery, but it's great to see an indie thrive so creatively....more
To refer to Prof. Unrue as a friend is a bit presumptive, but she and I have been working on the Porter selections for the HEATH ANTHOLOGY lately, andTo refer to Prof. Unrue as a friend is a bit presumptive, but she and I have been working on the Porter selections for the HEATH ANTHOLOGY lately, and I admire this book a whopping lot. It's more cultural and more balanced than Joan Givner's 1982 biography (which got a bad rap for leaning too heavily on "exposing" Porter's more imperious side). Porter led an extraordinary life: 90 years, 5 marriages, several continents and lovers (usually younger men), an array of literati (Allen Tate, Hart Crane, Andrew Lytle), a very complex sense of politics. In the end, she was not especially prolific: 27 stories, a single novel, lots of nonfiction ephemera. Darlene covers it all, and its a tribute to her sense of pace that 90 years goes by in 381 pages without any fallowness or undue summary. A model of what a good biography can be....more
Normally I'm not a big textual studies guy---I just don't have enough first-hand access to archives myself to do it, and I tend to think too abstractlNormally I'm not a big textual studies guy---I just don't have enough first-hand access to archives myself to do it, and I tend to think too abstractly and non-linearly to really do it well. So I admire anyone who has both the patience and laser focus to do a composition study. Jim West is one of the best, and this book is probably one of the two most interesting text-based analyses of Fitzgerald. (The other is Matt Bruccoli's on Tender Is the Night). Part of what makes this one work is the story itself: Paradise started out as a book called The Romantic Egoist, only a portion of which still exists. Fitzgerald also interpolated a lot of his own poetry and story fragments ("The Debutante") into the text, making it a miscellany (or hodge-podge even). Then there are editorial issues of consistency (Amory's hair color changes) and even spelling (one NY columnist in 1920 made it a point to mock all of the misspellings that Scribner's didn't bother to correct in proof). I don't always agree with Jim's take on the action and characters---he's a little rough on Eleanor Savage for me. (I think Eleanor's pretty hot, all "hipped on Freud" as she is). But I still enjoy reading this book, and, of course, I use it all the time in my work....more
I've only met Michael a couple of times, but I admire his work and found both the novellas here very understated and polished, even if they are downbeI've only met Michael a couple of times, but I admire his work and found both the novellas here very understated and polished, even if they are downbeat. The first one is a family drama about a son in Mobile feeling adrift from his widowed father and brother. The second is a quicker and flashier take on New Year's that cuts back and forth between several perspectives, including not only partygoers, babysitters, and the inevitable adolescent boy locked in his room surfing dirty websites. It's a funny take on relationships. What's admirable here is the steadiness and surety of the prose---you never feel like Michael is lighting fireworks or straining for sensationalism. It's a short book, like Stewart O'Nan's current one, but it's deeper than the length would lead you to believe.
A BIT OF TRIVIA: Portions of the second novella appeared originally in a collection edited by Don Noble called CLIMBING MT. CHEAH that features emerging Alabama writers. I felt fortunate to be in this book with folks like Michael....more
I was delighted when Charles Simic reviewed this recently in the New York Review of Books---I'd been following Scott's progress on the book for severaI was delighted when Charles Simic reviewed this recently in the New York Review of Books---I'd been following Scott's progress on the book for several years and was deeply impressed with the scholarship. For starters, much of Robinson's correspondence was written in a weird code that a previous biographer had spent years laboring over, only to leave the work unfinished. Then revealing letters and papers sat in a warehouse, unviewable, for ages until complicated ownership issues could be worked out. (Not surprisingly, the gentleman's estate was convinced the papers were woth $$$, because---well, aren't everybody's papers worth something?). So Scott certainly had his work cut out for him. What comes through is a reasoned argument for going back and rediscovering pre-modern poetry---the largely forgotten generation that didn't find end rhymes and word play insufficiently tragic to make poetry out of. Robinson also lived an interesting life---from digging tunnels in his twenties to two Pulitzer prizes by the end of his career. If all you know of EAR is Paul Simon's adaptation of "Richard Cory"---and for years I didn't even know that version but the Denny Laine cover on WINGS OVER AMERICA---this is a book you'll want to consult....more
Robin was a good friend of mine when I was at LSU in the early 90s. She was always very kind and encouraging, and I was really proud to be there when Robin was a good friend of mine when I was at LSU in the early 90s. She was always very kind and encouraging, and I was really proud to be there when this book-her first-was accepted. It's a really interesting study of representations of women in sci-fi, which is Robin's speciality. (Check out her new bio of Anne McCaffrey). I had never heard of many of the books she discusses at the time, but this book made me want to read them. There are also great reproductions of pulp covers. I didn't really appreciate how intellectually compelling the study of pulp books could be until I read this....more
I knew zippo about Dick Haymes except that Ruth was crazy for him. For years she recited me the line from Philip Roth's THE HUMAN STAIN in which HaymeI knew zippo about Dick Haymes except that Ruth was crazy for him. For years she recited me the line from Philip Roth's THE HUMAN STAIN in which Haymes's voice is described as the epitome of Aristotelian catharsis. Then she sent me a CD and I was hooked. I devoured her bio of this neglected figure in about a day and a half while streaming Haymes selections on Rhapsody. The story is profoundly sad---numerous wives, alcoholism, fading celebrity. The nadir? Haymes's last screen appearance was in WON TON TON: THE DOG THAT SAVED HOLLYWOOD (1976). That's right: WON TON TON: THE DOG THAT SAVED HOLLYWOOD.......more
A fabulous analysis of Stein, Hemingway, Djuna Barnes, Henry Miller, and Fitzgerald. Charms with the virtue of being eminently readable and yet intellA fabulous analysis of Stein, Hemingway, Djuna Barnes, Henry Miller, and Fitzgerald. Charms with the virtue of being eminently readable and yet intellectually compelling. This is the book I learned to write academic books and articles from---Jerry taught me a lot not only about content, but style and accessibility....more
Joan and I went to high school together. We dated when we were sixteen until I ran away to Brazil. She always intimidated the hell out of me, which isJoan and I went to high school together. We dated when we were sixteen until I ran away to Brazil. She always intimidated the hell out of me, which is why I loved her. I was proud when she worked for Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in the mid-90s and they published her book, which is the story of her traveling to Ireland to discover her family roots. Don't strain yourself wondering why a book about Ireland is called ZULU---James Joyce's son explains it early on. As I understand it, the book started as a Master's thesis at the U of Missouri-Columbia in the early 90s. (I went to UMC, too, but no, Joan didn't follow me there). The book takes her to Roscrea, County Tipperary in search of her grandmother, pre-1912 emigration. We then come back to New York to meet several other representative Irish. The interviews are often sad and bitter but always compelling. Most of all, it makes you respect what it cost Joan's grandmother's generation in terms of identity to make that one-way voyage to America....more
I met Dan with Marshall Boswell in KY in 04. We all had a great drunken time together talking on-the-cusp of forty stuff. Dan later put me in contact I met Dan with Marshall Boswell in KY in 04. We all had a great drunken time together talking on-the-cusp of forty stuff. Dan later put me in contact with his agent, who went on to do me many a favor as well. Evel Knievel's recent passing made me pluck the book off the shelves and reread, because the "Do you know who I am?" man (for you Jim Rome fans) is a big motif in the book. I loved the referencing of the parents as The Father and The Mother as well. If you were around in 1974, you'll be transported back to a very curious pop culture time when everything seemed to be going phooey, but in a laid-back as opposed to tumultuous way. Dan's tone captures that weird disconnect very nicely. I've had to read LOTS of coming of age novels in the past few months, and this one stands out---and I don't just say that because Mr. Pope bought my dinner in Bowling Green!...more
I met Marshall at the Southern KY Book Festival in 04. Had a great time with him and brought him to Montgomery to read to some classes that May. He's I met Marshall at the Southern KY Book Festival in 04. Had a great time with him and brought him to Montgomery to read to some classes that May. He's a very charming guy, funny and self-deprecating, all of which works well on an audience. Alternative Atlanta is the kind of book those of us born between 64 and, say, 75 can identify with: a character struggling to discover the meaning of maturity, a love of music, parental alienation, pining for the girl who got away. Plus guilt over all of the above. There was talk when the book came out that it was an example of "lad lit," that unfortunately titled counterpart of "chick lit." I like to think of it more as generational fiction---it speaks to a common experience many of us, male and female, have faced while trying to reach this thing called adulthood....more
I was scheduled to review this book for the Alabama Writers Forum when it was outrageously recalled in Oct. 2005. In one of my few smart moves ever, II was scheduled to review this book for the Alabama Writers Forum when it was outrageously recalled in Oct. 2005. In one of my few smart moves ever, I "forgot" to return my review copy and stashed it in a place where the five-finger club would never get to it. (Less scrupulous reviewers ran to Ebay demanding anywhere from $300-1000 a copy). Two years later---and with a revised version out from River City---we can kick its controversial history aside and focus on the fiction. Which is good---and I mean really really good. The title story has a fantastic conceit that blends a Don DeLillo Zapruder-style fantasy with Crimson Tide football iconography. "Tuscaloosa Knights" is boffo in its take on the KKK. Unfortunately, the book will always be tied to its peculiar textual history, which is unfair. I admire BV for the integrity he showed throughout the whole ordeal. It would have broken a lesser man....more
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