Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Esther Hautzig

by Esther Hautzig
Review:
This is a story about a ten-year-old girl, Esther Rudomin, whose family is arrested in 1941 and taken from their home in Poland and sent to Siberia. She describes this event as "the end of my lovely world". "The author of this deeply moving personal narrative spent her years between ten and fourteen as a Polish deportee in a remote, impoverished Siberian village. Taken prisoner by the Russians in 1941 and shipped by cattle car to a forced-labor camp, Esther, her mother, and her grandmother managed to stay together and to keep each other alive through near starvation and arctic winters." I loved the voice in this story and definitely would recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction. 

No Wave


Strand Books 
828 Broadway locationJuly 30 7:00PM - 8:30PMMusicians, writers, and archivists Thurston Moore and Byron Coley visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground punk rock, new wave, experimental music of 1976 to 1980. Discussion and signing.No Wave is the first book to visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground punk rock, new wave, experimental music of 1976 to 1980. Musicians, writers, and archivists Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have selected 150 unforgettable images, most of which have never been published and compiled hundreds of hours of personal interviews into an oral history for this exploration and celebration of No Wave. "Moore and Coley wade into the mire that was No Wave and pull all kinds of order into it, if that could be possible. I've never been part of a scene, though if I were I might have opted for this one" (David Bowie). Moore and Coley will talk about this era and share some of this collection with us.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Banana Fish

by Akimi Yoshida

Review:
This graphic novel is written in the style of shounen ai (a genre of manga created for females, usually by females, that focuses on love and relationships between male characters). 
This was a great introduction to a series involving youth gangs, an all-but-comatose Vietnam vet, the NYPD, a pair of Japanese reporters, the mafia, and a series of mysterious suicides. I couldn't believe how this story unfolded, I loved every scene and can't wait to grab the next volume in the series. The title is what really pulled me in and the artwork is really something else. A must read for the Manga fan in all of us!

Book Description
New York City, 1985. A dying man leaves gay gang leader Ash Lynx a strange drug, the key to something called "Banana Fish." The mysterious potion will lead Ash to a disturbed Vietnam vet who remembers a massacre - and into brutal battle with the mafia over control of the drug.

Francesca Lia Block

by Francesca Lia Block 
Review:
I have never heard of this author before and was not even familiar with the audience she writes for or the genre, but took a chance and truly enjoyed the adventures of Miss Weetzie Bat. The original cover for the book is so much cooler than the newly released version, but then again, who is going to judge this book by its cover. 

This is a story of a girl, who gets three wishes from a genie and they all come true. Weetzie is best friends with Dirk who is in a punk band and drives a '55 Pontiac. Dirk just reveals to her that he is gay and she is elated. They move in together and the fun begins. Weetzie finds a boyfriend, Dirk's boyfriend moves in and a baby is on the way. Who is the father? This is a complete page turner, I read it in one sitting, before bed, and really wanted more at the end. Not your average Young Adult book, I was shocked when I found out that, that was the audience, yet overall it was still worth a read. 

Martin Espada

by Martin Espada
Review:
Sandra Cisneros says: Martín Espada is the Pablo Neruda of North American authors.” 
Martín Espada was born in Brooklyn, NY and  is a poet and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and Latino poetry. His poetry is sometimes based on Puerto Rico, politics, history and literature. The Republic of Poetry is his eighth collection of poems, where he celebrates odes, elegies, collective memories, hidden history, miraculous happenings and redemptive justice. Espada introduces us to his 'republic' in three parts. The first is Chile, the second unites the poets, from various lands, whom Espada has admired and finally, there is the American 'republic'. I personally loved two poems in this collection: The Republic of Poetry (I think I will use this in my classroom this year.) and Rules for Captain Ahab's Provincetown Poetry Workshop. Both are funny and clever poems that will stick with you for days. Overall, this is the first full collection of Espada's that I have read and I will now look for more of his work in the future. If you are interested in hearing him read, he will be at the 12th biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, which will run from Thursday, September 25 through Sunday, September 28, 2008. 

Monday, July 21, 2008

Eudora Welty


 by Eudora Welty
The story and its analyses are not mirror-opposites of each other. They are not reflections, either one. Criticism indeed is an art, as a story is, but only the story is to some degree a vision; there is no explanation outside fiction for what the writer is learning to do.
—Eudora Welty, "On Writing"
Review:
"Listening", "Learning To See" and "Finding A Voice" are the three small sections that make up Welty's memoir, One Writer's Beginnings.  Even though, this book is only 100 pages long, it is extremely rich with detail and advice for writer's of all ages and levels. 

You're probably wondering why I would pick this book up? Well, last week, I took a writer's workshop and this was one of the options for required reading. Although, not one person in the class chose this book, I myself am so glad that I read this book, because her stories not only spoke to me, but helped trigger ideas for a few short stories I worked on throughout the week. 

Besides the story line, I loved the old photos in the middle and her style of storytelling. This is not your typical autobiography, but a must read for Welty fans. Overall a beautiful book!

sites:


Sunday, July 20, 2008

Marsupial

Our Mother for the Time Being
Derek White
Marsupial is a fragmented novel about somebody out of place within the cathartic context of the making of a movie overseas.
Review:
Marsupial is a mix between a Fellini film and a Kafka novel. The tale twists and turns meshing fantasy and modernism, while the story telling constantly changes in format. We witness the plot through a series of screenplays, narratives, memoirs, dreams and some dictionary definitions, all with a hint of magical realism. I wanted to believe every word that White wrote, as if I was reading his autobiography. This is a very believable tale mixed with a splash of the weirdest and most memorable dialogue you will ever experience. After the first 100 pages, I tried to read only the scripts till the end of the book and it was really a beautiful odd experience. I think the book would totally work without the background story and additional text, just as a screenplay. Although, I loved the sequence of events and would not change a thing. I am not sure what White's process was when writing this novel, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he wrote the screenplay first, then the remainder of the book. I really enjoyed the artwork sprinkled through out the pages and the dictionary definitions are hysterical. If you haven't read anything by White, this is much heavier than his previous work, so beware. A crisp new book by a true artist. Bravo!
Click here to read reviews and excerpts.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Persepolis 2, The Story Of A Return


Review:
Soon after reading Perspolis, I immediately felt the need to know what happened next to Satrapi. In Persepolis 2, she continues her  fascinating story fleeing fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. After four years in Vienna, I was so grateful to find out just what happened to Satrapi and how she tries to maintain a "normal" life in her old country. It was a struggle as usual, where she paints an honest portrait of her trials and tribulations, in a land she never really seems to enjoy. After I read both books, I ran out and rented the movie and loved it. The story seemed to really come to life on screen and is definitely worth seeing.

Persepolis, The Story Of A Childhood

by Marjane Satrapi

Review:
Marjane Satrapi's wise, historical, and inspiring memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This is a powerful black-and-white comic strip, which tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen. Not only a coming of age story, but a great way to expose others to the devastating effects of the war with Iraq. Funny and depressing at the same time, a must read that keeps you wanting more.  

Click on this link below to read an interview with Satrapi.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Short Fiction in your box, Daily!


Every Day Fiction is a magazine that specializes in bringing you fine fiction in bite-sized doses. Every day, without exception, we publish a new short story of 1000 words or fewer that can be read during your lunch hour, on transit, or even over breakfast. 
Every Day Fiction is a magazine that specializes in bringing you fine fiction in bite-size doses. Every day at 7:30am EST (4:30am PST), we publish a new short story of 1000 words or fewer that can be read during your lunch hour, on transit, or even over breakfast. publish a new short story of 1000 words or fewer that can be read during your lunch hour, on transit, or even over breakfast.

Odyssey through the Odyssey?


by Scott Huler

From Publishers Weekly
As this literary travelogue opens, NPR contributor and author Huler (Defining the Wind) sounds like he's going to renege on his 2001 pledge never to read James Joyce's Ulysses. He joins a Ulysses reading group, but finds himself more fascinated by the story behind it: Homer's The Odyssey, which he'd also never read. A plan is born: to retrace Odysseus' twenty-year travels. Huler's first challenge is that nobody really knows where any of the locations actually are-finding them, he says, is like hunting for the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz. Although Huler initially tries too hard to relate his slapdash wanderings to the text (a ride on a Homer-themed cruise has him saying, "I found myself among these magical seafarers, exactly like Odysseus"), he eventually gives in to the randomness of his travels, and the book is all the better for it. While fighting his way onto crowded ferries or showing up in tiny hamlets with no hotel reservations, he has some realizations about the man he's following and about journeying as its own reward. Huler's book is not without flaws, but in essence, as he himself concludes about The Odyssey's continuing appeal, "the story has good bones." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 

The Beats


A Blue Hand: The Beats in India 


A literary exploration of the Beats' encounter with India in the 1960s, a journey that inspired and influenced generations of Americans and Indians alike.

Top Shelf Productions


*I love this site and am a huge fan of their graphic novels and comics. Check out their story and the link below, I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Sophisticated Comics for the Modern Age.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS publishes contemporary graphic novels and comics by artists of singular vision. Dedicated to championing veteran creators as well as finding and developing emerging talent, the Top Shelf library is anchored by such masters of the craft as Alan Moore (From Hell, with Eddie Campbell; Lost Girls, with Melinda Gebbie), Craig Thompson (BlanketsCarnet De Voyage), Andy Runton (Owly), Jeffrey Brown (ClumsyUnlikely), Alex Robinson (Box Office PoisonTricked), James Kochalka (American ElfSuper F*ckers), Robert Venditti (The Surrogates, with Brett Weldele), Jeff Lemire (Essex County), Matt Kindt (Super Spy), Renée French (The Ticking), and many more.


Who is Kazu Kibuishi?

Born 1978 in TokyoJapan, he is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the web comic Copper. Check out the visuals at his website www.boltcity.com/

Novel Destinations


Since summer is a time to travel, why not check out some literary landmarks. If you’re looking to indulge in literary adventure, you’ll find all the inspiration and information you need in Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West by Shannon Mckenna Schmidt (Author), Joni Rendon (Author), Matthew Pearl (Introduction) along with behind-the-scenes stories. Check out their website for more information and photos.   http://noveldestinations.wordpress.com/


Marjane Satrapi


Chicken with Plums 

Review:
This graphic novel tells the story of Tehran in 1958, and Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran’s most revered tar players. He discovers that his beloved instrument is irreparably damaged and though he tries, he cannot find one to replace it.  In despair, he takes to his bed, renouncing the world and all its pleasures, closing the door on the demands and love of his wife and his four children. A beautiful story about life and death, courage and passion and love.  The illustrations are simple in black and white, but unexpectedly enchanting. 

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Florian Zeller

Julien Parme
Debut? Not really. 
Julien Parme
 is not Florian Zeller's first novel. His first novel Artificial Snow was published to moderate acclaim when the author was twenty-two years old. Fascination of Evil and Love or Something Like It were published in France, which makes this Zeller's first official U.S. debut. 

Review:

"Impetuous 14-year-old aspiring writer Julien Parme hasn't quite gotten over the death of his father from cancer five years earlier, and his latest bout of bad behavior has led to a grounding by his strict Protestant mother. That means skipping the Champs-Elyses birthday party of 'hottie' senior Emilie Fermat, the actress-daughter of a TV producer. News of his mother's impending marriage, however (to live-in 'jerk in a goatee and corduroy pants' Franois), propels Julien into the Paris night. He's in love, sort of, with his French teacher, Madame Thomas, who's very inspiring when teaching Jean de la Fontaine in sheer blouses, but he's also especially taken with Emilie's horse-loving younger sister, Mathilde. Rodarmor's translation makes Julien — who narrates — read like a sweetly knowing update of Holden Caulfield, complete with boarding school stint. Hilarious moments of bravery and deceit win the reader over utterly. 
(June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

35th Novel

This is the 35th novel released by Joyce Carol Oates! Wow, she really is a living legend and if you have not experienced her yet, run out and pick anything up by this unbelievable author. 

My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike


Publisher Comments:

New York Times bestselling author of The Falls, Blonde, and We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates returns with a dark, wry, satirical tale--inspired by an unsolved American true-crime mystery.

Dysfunctional families are all alike. Ditto 'survivors.'

So begins the unexpurgated first-person narrative of nineteen-year-old Skyler Rampike, the only surviving child of an infamous American family. A decade ago the Rampikes were destroyed by the murder of Skyler's six-year-old ice-skating champion sister, Bliss, and the media scrutiny that followed. Part investigation into the unsolved murder; part elegy for the lost Bliss and for Skyler's own lost childhood; and part corrosively funny expose of the pretensions of upper-middle-class American suburbia, this captivating novel explores with unexpected sympathy and subtlety the intimate lives of those who dwell in Tabloid Hell.

Likely to be Joyce Carol Oates's most controversial novel to date, as well as her most boldly satirical, this unconventional work of fiction is sure to be recognized as a classic exploration of the tragic interface between private life and the perilous life of celebrity. In My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, the incomparable Oates once again mines the depths of the sinister yet comic malaise at the heart of our contemporary culture.

Rivka Galchen


Atmospheric Disturbances

I have recently become obsessed with video book trailers, and had to share the link to this sweet one, I stumbled upon today. This is an impressive debut from a new novelist that has been compared to Proust and Pynchon. A must read! 

About the Author
Rivka Galchen received her MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, having spent a year in South America working on public health issues. Galchen recently completed her MFA at Columbia University, where she was a Robert Bingham Fellow. Her essay on the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics was published in The Believer, and she is the recipient of a 2006 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award. Galchen lives in New York City. This is her first novel. (Powell's Books)
Video:








Monday, July 7, 2008

Etgar Keret


The Nimrod Flipout: Stories 

by Etgar Keret

Review: The Nimrod Flipout includes stories about a talking fish, a little girl who loves all things that glitter, and the people who once lived on the moon “who could think their thoughts in any shape they wanted.” These stories are selections from his four story collections. 
What is so appealing about the thirty brief stories in The Nimrod Flipout?  Some may love the brevity (thirteen of them are less than four pages long) and spurts of 
absurdism or irony in each story.  I personally  get excited when thinking about how his humor is translated and if we (English speakers/readers) are missing out on a few inside jokes. An overall strange, mellow and surreal experience worth taking. 

About the author:
Etgar Keret was born August 20, 1967 in Ramat Gan, Israel. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Shira Geffen, and their son, Lev. He is a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva and Tel Aviv University.
He is an Israeli writer known for his short storiesgraphic novels and scriptwriting for film and television.

sites worth checking out:

Lynne Cox & Mark Kurlansky



*Here are my two latest "beach read" suggestions. Oh, how I cringe at that label, but "when in Rome... ."


Grayson 

by Lynne Cox

From the Jacket: Grayson is Lynne Cox's first book since Swimming to Antarctica ("Riveting"—Sports Illustrated; "Pitch-perfect"—Outside). In it she tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to her when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim (she had already swum the English Channel, twice, and the Catalina Channel).There's something frightening, and magical, about being on the ocean, moving between the heavens and the earth, knowing that you can encounter anything on your journey.

Excerpt from Chapter One:

The stars had set. The sea and sky were inky black, so black I could not see my hands pulling water in front of my face, so black there was no separation between the sea and the sky. They melted together.

It was early March and I was seventeen years old, swimming two hundred yards offshore, outside the line of breaking waves off Seal Beach, California. The water was chilly, fifty-five degrees and as smooth as black ice. And I was swimming on pace, moving at about sixty strokes per minute, etching a small silvery groove across the wide black ocean.

Usually my morning workouts started at 6 a.m., but on this day, I wanted to finish early, get home, complete my homework, and spend the day with friends, so I had begun at 5 a.m.

There were vast and silent forces swirling around me: strong water currents created by distant winds and large waves, the gravitational pull of moon and sun, and the rapid spinning of the earth. These currents were wrapping around me like long braids of soft black licorice, and I was pulling strongly with my arms, trying to slice through them.

As I swam, all I heard were the waves, rising and tumbling onto shore, the smooth rhythm of my hands splashing into the water, the breaths that I drew into my mouth and lungs, and the long gurgling of silvery bubbles rolling slowly into the sea. I slid into my pace, and I felt the water below me shudder.

It wasn't a rogue wave or a current. It felt like something else.


Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World 


About the Author
Mark Kurlansky has written articles for the New York Times MagazineHarper's, the International Herald Tribune, and Partisan Review. He is also the author of two other books, A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny (Ballantine) and The Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry (Ballantine). When not travelling around the world, Mark makes his home in New York City with his wife and daughter.
Reviews:
"Every once in a while a writer of particular skill takes a fresh, seemingly improbable idea and turns out a book of pure delight. Such is the case of Mark Kurlansky and the codfish. No one who reads this charming tale will ever think the same again of either the fish or history". 
David McCullough

"In this fascinating story of cod, written in a flowing, poetic prose, the author takes you back to the ancient Basque fishermen and the recipes of the fourteenth century Taillevent, chef to Charles V of France, the eighteenth century Hannah Glasse, and the nineteenth century Alexander Dumas. This exceptional book entertainingly reveals the importance of this wonderful fish in world history".

 Jacques Pepin

"In the story of the cod, Mark Kurlansky has found the tragic fable of our age — abundance turned to scarcity through determined shortsightedness. This classic history will stand as an epitaph and a warning". 

Bill McKibben