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     |  They have taken Alan to Stephanie’s place, as Tom describes how he got to this part of the world. We switch back and forth momentarily between what Tom understands and what he is a witness to. Alan is killing himself one bender at a time. But neither drugs or booze will do the job right. Continue reading Forks by Alix Ohlin  She tells me that they are both stuck in this college town, teaching tidy little classes meant for people with no real goal above teaching. They want a divorce she tells me, and I wonder aloud, (weirdly I’m not out of breath), why? They’re cool with it she says, as we jog in place at a traffic light. It turns green, we take off again, and she keeps telling me more about Kathleen. Continue reading Signs and Wonders by Alix Ohlin  I loved this short novel about Finch, a corporate drone fired from his job creating fake lives in the blogosphere to promote his company’s products. He receives an offer from an eccentric gazillionaire to become the man’s “garden hermit” and heads down the road to completely removing himself from social contacts. A sort of Walden meets Being There. Continue reading Best of 2011, Part 4: Jason Chambers  It’s like friendship really is if we could live out several dimensions of it at once. And do you really need to have the finished version? I’d rather have three or four versions of the same story without an ending than one story with a decisive conclusion. Love the mess. Continue reading Best of 2011, Part 3: Dennis Haritou  At first you might see this book as pornography. I suppose if it helps you pick the book up then that’s okay. This is a razor sharp snapshot of several families, circa: right now. It examines every inch of their personalities, from eating disorders to sexual frustrations to the local PTA. It also showers you with more graphic sex than anyone could possibly handle. In the words of Kate Christensen, “it’s unputdownable.” Continue reading Best of 2011, part 2: Jason Rice  Some titles have to make their own way in the world almost exclusively on the strength of the work itself, and the power of good old fashioned word-of-mouth. Since we love the spirit of independence around here, we thought we’d give you something a little different than the run- of-the-mill “best of” list this year. Continue reading The Sleepers of 2011, part 1 – Jonathan Evison  The kid on page 11: In striped 50′s tee and slicked-down hair. What is he, 13? He’s down the corner from a crap town bar called the Minute Tavern. Can you imagine yourself going into a bar called the Minute Tavern? On his left a pile of ash cans on the street. You have to be tough on the street and this kid knows it. He glares a swagger into the camera. “Can I take your picture, kid?” Continue reading Vivian Maier: Street Photographer  Eli whips us with is quick wit, savvy tongue. He can’t stand his brother, and his mother is “putting up” with him. There is a wave of depression that wafts from these characters. It does not crush the book, but gives the sense that even prozac won’t help. These worries are permanent. Continue reading Flatscreen by Adam Wilson  It is like a jukebox at the diner, flip through until you find one you like. There is one that I particularly love, about a man falling to earth afer his parachute didn’t open. He hits a pigeon in his flight, and the bird dies pressed against his chest. The man can feel the birds heart beating it’s last beats as they fall to earth. Continue reading 420 Characters by Lou Beach  I remember reading Chaon’s collection Among the Missing on the train to and from work. I got so involved I would often miss my stop. Over the years Chaon wrote two more novels, which are highly literate and wildly entertaining. Await Your Reply is possibly one of the best literary thrillers to come along in some time. Continue reading The Bees by Dan Chaon  The interior lives of homes have their own emotional logic. From the inside of the old stone house, where we just see the old guy and Marina growing closer like a bowl with only two goldfish in it, it seems perfectly sensible that Marina has inherited. Continue reading The Stain by Tessa Hadley  Tomas is 4 foot eleven, an unattractive dwarf. Then Hemingway wows me by bringing in the court dwarfs that appear in paintings by Velasquez..only this one’s in jeans, has broken teeth and likes Scotch whisky, which makes me presume that he is drinking Hemingway’s. Continue reading Hemingway on The Chauffeurs of Madrid  By the time things go Cormac McCarthy, you will have a hard time looking at this book because it’s so weird and sad. When Magary takes us up to 30,000 feet for a view of the rest of the world’s solution to over population, you get the idea about “Great Correction”. Continue reading The Postmortal by Drew Magary  If you find it hard to get your head around an ex-cop who becomes an exclusive home designer, the bridge is AA. Terry is more than Randy’s best friend, He was also Randy’s sponsor in AA. Terry asked Randy, his life a wreck, what he would want to do if he could do anything. Then Terry made sure that Randy went back to school and earned the credentials that enabled him to design homes. Continue reading The Next Right Thing by Dan Barden  Our swain, Charlie, lives decidedly upscale. His older brother goes to West Point. His father is an architect. Charlie is slated for Rensselaer. My gosh, Rensselaer, the Cambridge of engineering schools! When I was in high school, I knew a kid who was going to Rensselaer. He intimidated the shit out of me. Continue reading Attraction by David Long | |||
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