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Category Archives: On Books
A FOOLISH TOWN? OR JUST SOME FOOLISH FOLKS?
Nobody’s Fool. Everybody’s Fool. Somebody’s Fool. Well, every book Richard Russo writes proves that none of those characterization apply to him. Russo earned the Pulitzer Prize when he wrote about a town called Empire Falls, but when he penned Nobody’s … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, On Books, On Writing, Whatever
Tagged #books, fiction, novel, recommend, review, Richard Russo
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Tough, Beguiling, Captivating: The Somewhat Devilish Path of Ben Fountain’s “Devil Makes Three”
“The country has a coup, and Tommy Rittenhouse throws a fuckfest.” And there you have it. Early on, exactly at p. 12 of Devil Makes Three, Ben Fountain uses Matt, his major male character (of many, many important characters, both … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, On Books, Whatever
Tagged #books, 1970s, adventure, Ben Fountain, fiction, Haiti, novel
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Today’s Story Unleashes “The Condor’s Shadow”!
Wow! It’s been a while! This is the first time I’ve penned my Today’s Story blog since . . .uh . . . May of 2020! I apologize for the Great Interregnum! First of all, I was finally able to … Continue reading
Posted in On Books, The Condor'sShadow
Tagged #books, adventure, fiction, novel, The Condor's Shadow
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CHEROKEE AMERICA IS OUT! AND IT ROCKS!
“. . . a sprawling, character-rich depiction of a group of people–Cherokee full-bloods and half-bloods along with some blacks and even a few whites–living in the post-Civil War territory referred to throughout as the Cherokee Nation.” Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, More About Jim, On Books
Tagged bawdyhouse, character-rich, Cherokee Nation, Judge Isaac Parker, Sequoyah, Singer family
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Vladimir Nabokov’s Enduring, Magical Lexical Flim-Flammery
Ah, words! Those of you who remember that I wrote a novel called Problems of Translation will hardly be surprised that the sounds as well as the meanings of those pesky little tools for constructing sentences are very close to … Continue reading
Posted in On Books, On Writing, Whatever
Tagged Pale Fire, Problems of Translation, translation, Vladimir Nabokov, word-play
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Michael Chabon’s Moonglow: A Novel Shines From Within
Michael Chabon, of course, needs no introduction. But you may wonder whether his latest book, Moonglow: A Novel, is actually a novel or a memoir. He calls this work a novel in the title itself and so it is, but … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, On Books, On Writing, Publications, Uncategorized, Whatever
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“Maud’s Line”: A Terrifying, Heart-Tugging Tale of A Hard-Scrabble Life
Eastern Oklahoma in the 1920s, in an area inhabited mostly by Cherokees. This is the setting for Margaret Verble’s remarkable, heart-breaking yet ultimately life-affirming first novel, Maud’s Line. Why did this book’s title grab me so sharply? First, because I … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, On Books, On Writing, Publications, Whatever
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TRY SHOOTING YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS ONE! HANNAH TINTI’S “THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY”
What a spectacular yarn! A doting father with a crime-riddled past whose claims on him are not yet expired (and whose failures are recorded on nearly every inch of his body). A devoted daughter who tends to act (or react) … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, On Books
Tagged #books, adventure, fiction, greatread, Hannah Tinti, novel, review
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Colum McCann’s Wonderful Recent Collection
[I wrote this back in October. But after I mentioned it today to a fairly regular reader of this blog, and noticed the puzzled look on her face, I checked back and found that I’d actually never published it. So here it is now. … Continue reading
Posted in On Books, On Writing, Publications, Videos, Whatever
Tagged Colum McCann, judge, murder mystery, musical, poetry, thirteen, unbridgeable gulf, video cameras
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Guess What! Cover of Publishers Weekly!
Hey, guys! Sorry to toot my own horn, but I’m on the cover of Publishers Weekly! Well, not me, exactly, but my book, Problems of Translation. I feel quite thrilled to see that image of my book staring up at … Continue reading