http://www.jenniferhoward.com/blog/2012/01/democracy_swamp_creatures_and_.html
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Democracy: Skepticism Versus Cynicism
This is the third in a series of posts between myself and Jennifer Howard about Henry Adams’ 1880 novel, Democracy. Read her first post. Jennifer, Your point about Madeleine’s transgression is right, and, yes, a little chilling: Her mistake isn’t … Continue reading →
Democracy: A Funny Town for a Woman
This is the first post in a discussion on Jennifer Howard‘s blog and mine about Henry Adams‘ 1880 novel, Democracy. For more background, you can read my introductory post as well as Jennifer’s. Jennifer, So, why did we decide to … Continue reading →
Some Programming Notes
I have a review of George Pelecanos‘ new novel, What It Was, at Washington City Paper. I had the rare luxury of an extended word count, so I tried to riff a little about how the new book (much like … Continue reading →
Links: Gag Rule
Shalom Auslander answers most of the questions in his Q&A with the Rumpus with jokes. Which makes moment when he (more or less) doesn’t, in response to a question about the connection between comedy and morals, interesting: “Humor is anger, … Continue reading →
Democracy Now
I’ve never tried hosting a group read on this blog. That’s partly because I don’t want to apply any more structure to writing-I-do-for-free than I have to, and partly because I haven’t found the a book that seemed right for … Continue reading →
Little Sentences and Middle Ground
In Open Letters Monthly, Nicholas Nardini has an interesting take on Don DeLillo‘s first short story collection, The Angel Esmerelda, arguing that DeLillo’s sentences are better equipped for his big-canvas novels: Despite the big novels, the basic unit of DeLilloan … Continue reading →
Links: Make It New
Ruth Franklin delivers a few of her reading resolutions for the 2012. Her fourth one, about avoiding distraction, seems increasingly essential. As for me, last year I read little besides 2010, ’11, and ’12 releases, and I hope to spend … Continue reading →
Wrapping Up 2011
For the first time in a while, I haven’t been asked to submit a formal list or do a write-up of my favorite books of the year. Rather than feeling shut out of a conversation, I only feel relieved. Even … Continue reading →
“Please Tell Me”
“Ian McEwan just wrote me about the new book and said, ‘People say there’s not a class system in America,’” Jeffrey Eugenides tells the Paris Review. “‘Now I know there is, and I can tell them what to read if … Continue reading →
Words Fail
Ha Jin wrote a dull novel about an atrocity, but the unsettling thing about Nanjing Requiem is that it almost seems engineered to be dull. Negative reviews of the book (and there are plenty) have tended to point out that … Continue reading →
An Old Chicago Story
My review of Peter Orner‘s new novel, Love and Shame and Love, is in last Sunday’s Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The surfaces of the novel are surprising—the chapters are brief and impressionistic, and I can’t recall the last contemporary “literary” novel I’ve … Continue reading →
