ThreeGuys1Book has 1605 followers | By Dennis Haritou  
Marisa Silver’s story appears in the September 28th issue of the New Yorker. I liked this story; in part because I couldn’t make up my mind of what I finally thought of it. The Guys usually get comments on their reviews of New Yorker stories. So I’m hoping that some of our fans will come up with alternative readings. Shelly and Vivian, roommates of convenience, share an illegal warehouse space in LA as their residence. It’s attached to a ribbon factory. Shelly is dominant…she invited Vivian to occupy a small room in her large space. They met at a temp agency. “Temporary” is the evolving metaphor. Shelly comes from money. Her last name Continue reading Temporary by Marisa Silver By Dennis Haritou   I recently reviewed Amit Chaudhuri’s novel on Three Guys. His publisher, Knopf, generously gave me the opportunity to ask the writer some questions. Reading over the interview, I was struck by hints of the same wayward lyricism that I found so affecting in The Immortals. His tossed-off comments that adolescence was a form of fiction and that realism could be redemptive amazed the hell out of me. But what could realism that’s not naturalistic be? What a bright man…see below:
DH: In The Immortals, I found extended families, friendships and business relations laid out, more or less, on the same plane. It’s as if a carpet with a striking Continue reading Interview: Amit Chaudhuri's Redemptive Realism By 3G1B DH: The literate media has recently brought the criticism of Richard Poirier to my attention. I picked up a copy of his The Renewal of Literature on Amazon. I had to settle for a used copy. The book is not currently in print. I just started it but I didn’t want to wait to discuss this issue. What’s a novel for? Why would you want to read or write one? It boils down to this. When one of us wrote All About Lulu did he do it because he wanted to becomea better person or help others to improve themselves? Like: “Thank goodness I read Lulu, it really helped me ace that job interview! Or: “I used to be a Continue reading What's a Novel For? By Jonathan Evison   Folks are always talking about the “The Great Gatsby” as a quintessentially American novel, and I hold the same to be true of Budd Schulberg’s 1941 classic, “What Makes Sammy Run?” If Neil Diamond is the Jewish Elvis, Sammy may be the Jewish Gatsby. Perhaps the parallel is not coincidental considering the personal association between the two authors, which culminated in Schulberg’s 1950 novel “The Disenchanted,” featuring a thinly disguised (and critically drawn) Fitzgerald at the nadir of his career, ten years prior. Also a dynamite novel. But back to “What Makes Sammy Run? Every couple of years I revisit this masterful case study in the American ethos. In spite of its vintage, “What
Continue reading What Makes Sammy Run? By Jason Rice  
I once saw Sam Shepard sitting in a Japanese Restaurant on Columbus Avenue in New York City. He was all by himself at a table near the front of the restaurant, sitting right up against the window, and a few inches from the sidewalk. It was a quick recognition, I was halfway through a long walking stride, and in the time it took me to recognize him, and he recognized that I recognized him, my other foot had landed and I had walked past the restaurant. Years earlier I saw a play of his with Philip Seymor Hoffman and John C. Reilly, and was really blown away. The Right Stuff comes to mind, Continue reading Sam Shepard – Land of the Living – New Yorker Fiction – September 21st By Jason Rice This is a dramatic collection, the weight of the book alone makes you feel like you’re holding something substantial. I’ve never been a huge SF fan, I love Alien, and Blade Runner, anything about the end of the world, that stuff gets my attention. Jonathan Lethem wrote a really great essay on J.G Ballard recently (here), and it reminded me of Lethem’s roots in the genre, and he made a point that the stories aren’t all flying saucers and alien’s eating human flesh. My own mother loved the story in the New Yorker that came out the week J.G. Ballard died, The Secret Autobiography of J.G.B. and after reading it I too was convinced that this guy might have more Continue reading J.G. Ballard – The Complete Stories – Minus One & End-Game By Jason Rice  
It’s nice to see a big time publisher, actually, the biggest of the big time publishers, taking a little bit of the money they carpet the floor and paint the walls with and toss it behind a piece of speculative fiction, and I mean that in with every possible compliment in mind. ‘The Futurist’ is the fantastic debut novel from the massive talent, James P. Othmer. There are parts of this story that directly reflect Jonathan Franzen’s masterpiece, ‘The Corrections’. I’d go on about that book, but I’ve made that case enough times already. Franzen would be proud to read Othmer’s views on the future, culturally significant and Continue reading The Futurist…a book you totally forgot about…now go buy it… By Dennis Haritou  
Coetzee’s new novel, Summertime, is short-listed for the Mann Booker. The winner will be announced on October 6th. If JMC wins, he’ll be the first writer in the history of the prize to win three times. The novel will be on-sale in the U.S. on December 24th unless, due to mounting excitement, Penguin USA is able to advance the date. I have to say that this is one of the most remarkably constructed novels that I have ever read. The form seems unique and the content, it being Coetzee, is fastidious. Epistolary novels have been around since the dawn of the modern novel and in recent years we Continue reading Summertime by J. M. Coetzee An Early Review By Jason Chambers   It’s a game of telephone, this story by John Updike, who I’m getting to know better each time I read him.
The Rumor, which can be found in its entirety here, is something to be in awe of, really, more “bowled over” than “awe” if you want me to be specific. Frank and Sharon Whittier have purchased a gallery in lower Manhattan during the low period of what most would call the hip 1980′s. I used to hang out at those galleries at that time as a kid, and it never struck me as more than group of artists talking about Continue reading The Rumor – John Updike By Jonathan Evison  
Today marks the release of James P. Othmer’s ADLAND, which we’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog (see trailer here). Jimbo is a brilliant and hilarious dude, and we’re excited to see this book do well, along with his novel HOLY WATER, also forthcoming from Doubleday. Since it’s always a pleasure to talk with JPO, I did a little Q & A last week to mark his new release: JE: It seems to me that the process of creating ads is very much a process of distillation–distillation of concept, of copy, of theme, of intent–utilizing an editorial skill set which might greatly benefit the navel gazers Continue reading Interview with James P. Othmer By Jonathan Evison  
There are times when you should read a book, and take the advice of the people you trust, this is one of those times. I’ve avoided Stewart O’Nan for as long as I’ve been reading books. There is no particular reason, he’s as capable a storyteller as anyone working today, and that was my opinon before I picked up Songs for the Missing. In today’s apocolyptic market, (it is really bad out there for the book business that’s been eating prime rib everyday for the last ten years, at least) books like this are a brutal sell. The publisher made no bones about it, this was a book Continue reading Songs for the Missing – Stewart O’Nan By 3G1B  
DH: Reading is a solitary activity but I wouldn’t call it lonely. You do need to isolate yourself…keep family and friends, co-workers or surrounding strangers at bay. I’d say for at least 45 minutes. But you do have the company of the author. The loneliest activity is writing. If reading is wading, then writing is jumping into the deep end of the pool head first. Since The Guys have had this blog, I’ve learned that contact is possible between writers and readers. But sometimes it’s like trying to Iphone someone in a distant galaxy. I once asked a writer on Facebook if I could interview him and he Continue reading A Conversation on Interviews and Networking By Jason Rice   I feel like a bad guy. Blake Butler sent me a copy of this wonderful book a while ago, and I totally forgot to talk about it, and tell you how great it is.
Blake Butler has been doing great work for a while now, to be honest, his end of the world is just starting to come into focus for me. I’ve been looking around at people who publish smaller more personal books, things outside the mainstream, and totally original. Blake’s one of these people. His book looks like it’s went through Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and was carried Continue reading Scorch Atlas – Blake Butler By Jason Rice   I used to buy Other Press in my old job, and I remember being presented Hurry Down Sunshine, and thinking, “this isn’t going to sell, and what is this cover?” I was dead wrong. The book sold like hot cakes, got some great ink, and went on to be a great seller for Michael Greenberg. I was excited when I saw the incredible cover (not the one pictured here) and the original title in the Other Press catalog for Greenberg’s follow up to Hurry Down Sunshine called Black Suit, Worn Once $45. Does a book title have to be so literal
Continue reading Beg, Borrow, Steal…A Writer’s Life…Michael Greenberg By 3G1B   JE: In recent months, we 3 Guys have discussed a myriad of reasons for the flagging fiction market, from antiquated business models, to unimaginative marketing approaches, to the ever-stiffening competition for the shrinking entertainment dollar, to the work itself-from the cult of the sentence to the glut of self-conscious slacker narratives. But one contributing factor we haven’t addressed, is the practitioners themselves, who, but for a few rare exceptions (Dave Eggers, anyone?) fail to capture the public imagination by virtue of a bigger-than-life persona. Literary purists will insist that this doesn’t matter, that the artist is irrelevant, and ultimately, they’ll
Continue reading Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? | |
Recent Comments