Max Apple
Author of Roommates: My Grandfather's Story
About the Author
"It was my fascination itself with the English language that made me a writer," Apple wrote in an essay for the New York Times Book Review. Its endless suggestiveness has carried me through many a plot, entertained me when nothing else could." Growing up in a Yiddish-speaking family, Apple writes a show more prose that is remarkably attuned to America's cultural and linguistic With the 1976 publication of The Oranging of America, and Other Stories, Apple established himself as one of America's most affectionate, humorous, and astute critics. Like other postmodernist writers, Apple describes famous historical figures and American pop cultural heroes mingling with his fictional characters. Howard Johnson, Norman Mailer, Fidel Castro, and J. Edgar Hoover are but some of the figures that have all turned up in Apple's fiction. One critic stated that Apple creates "the literary equivalent of a Magritte painting. Apple is currently a professor of English at Rice University. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Max Apple
Bridging 1 copy
Associated Works
Still Wild: Short Fiction of the American West 1950 to the Present (2000) — Contributor — 147 copies, 1 review
Who's Writing This? Notations on the Authorial I, with Self-Portraits {not Antæus} (1995) — Contributor — 73 copies
Here I Am: Contemporary Jewish Stories from Around the World (1998) — Contributor — 52 copies, 1 review
Field of Fantasies: Baseball Stories of the Strange and Supernatural (2014) — Contributor — 43 copies
Antaeus No. 29, Spring 1978 — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1941-10-22
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA (birth)
- Education
- University of Michigan (BA ∙ 1963)
University of Michigan (PhD ∙ 1970) - Occupations
- short-story writer
novelist
English professor (University of Pennsylvania)
teacher (creative writing)
screenwriter
essayist - Relationships
- Apple, Sam (son)
Members
Reviews
I happened upon this on my book shelf and Max apple and his beloved Grandmother Gootie convinced me that I needed to read this book right away. And now I love Gootie too!! Max opens up a whole new world of interesting characters. As a clueless goy I was fascinated. The fact that these characters and events are real makes them that much more compelling. As often happens, I now want to read another book. "Roommates" is actually the first book in the tale. It tells more of Max's relationship with his Grandfather who is also a prominent character in "I Love Gootie"… (more)
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 12
- Also by
- 23
- Members
- 540
- Popularity
- #46,139
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 39
- Languages
- 2
In this short story collection, Max Apple take popular icons and refracts their universes so that their stories become a little bent from the ones we know. Howard Johnson, the restaurant/hotel maven, gets caught up in cryogenics. The charm of Gerald Ford must be combined with the consumption of a friend's doughnuts for him to rise to power. A "Let's Make a Deal"-type game show raises its contestants to such frenzy that their momentum carries them through even when the host is shot.
It's an approach I like (Jim Shepard does the same thing). And when Max Apple originally wrote these stories, I imagine they were cutting edge. The problem with time, however, is that cutting edge ideas become cliches and appreciation for the originator easily gets lost (even despite ourselves). The "Let's Make a Deal" story, for instance, is a satire on the hypnotic effect of television which can subvert basic human decency and values. Apple wrote that story sometime before 1974. Since that time, the theme has been rehashed in so many ways. (The movie "Network," which was judged outrageous in its time, was released in 1976.)
But let us praise the original thinkers, and remember Max Apple (to whom, I would guess, Jim Shepard also owes a debt).… (more)