Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Literature and Fiction Editors, Kerry Fried, Alix Wilber, and James Marcus FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL: * What We're Reading: Italo Calvino's "Why Read the Classics?" Stephen King's "Hearts in Atlantis," Jane Shapiro's "The Dangerous Husband," and Evelyn Waugh's "The Complete Stories" * Courting Controversy: An interview with Roddy Doyle * Resident Alien: Chang-rae Lee sounds off * Claire and Present Danger: Claire Messud on one fictional family's values * Sense and Censorability: Celebrate Banned Books Week! * Editor's Choice: John Updike's "More Matter," Ken Kalfus's "Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies," Penelope Fitzgerald's "At Freddie's," and Nicholas Rinaldi's "The Jukebox Queen of Malta" * New Literature & Fiction Paperbacks: Andrea Barrett's "Voyage of the Narwhal," Edwidge Danticat's "The Farming of Bones," and Lorrie Moore's "Birds of America" * Not Yet Published: Michael Crichton's "Timeline," Patrick O'Brian's "Blue at the Mizzen," and Barry Unsworth's "Losing Nelson," among others * Eyes on the Prize: Gunter Grass gets the Nobel WHAT WE'RE READING ****************** "Why Read the Classics?" by Italo Calvino http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679415246/entertainmentsit Dissing the Western canon has become our age's greatest literary spectator sport. But in "Why Read the Classics?" Italo Calvino comes to the defense of those (predominantly) Dead White Males. Singing the praises of Homer and Voltaire, Conrad and Borges, he answers his own question with typical, epigrammatic eloquence. "Hearts in Atlantis" by Stephen King http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684853515/entertainmentsit Soft-pedaling the horror in "Hearts in Atlantis," Stephen King instead comes up with a collection of astute, touching fictions. In five interlinked tales he explores the lost continent of American life, from the Eisenhower era to today--and retrieves some surprising treasures from the past. "The Dangerous Husband" by Jane Shapiro http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316782475/entertainmentsit "The Dangerous Husband" is a black-comic account of how things can go wrong with Mr. Right. The narrator of Jane Shapiro's razor-sharp novel thinks she's stumbled into a kind of matrimonial seventh heaven--until her new hubby's eccentricities go from charming to disturbing to downright lethal. "The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh" by Evelyn Waugh http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316925462/entertainmentsit In his novels, Evelyn Waugh chronicled the decline and fall of the British aristocracy with mordant, mirthful accuracy. But readers of "The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh" will discover that he was equally masterful--and equally amusing--when it came to the short form. Check out these other recommended reads: Literature & Fiction COURTING CONTROVERSY ******************** "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" had Roddy Doyle laughing all the way to the Booker Prize. With "A Star Called Henry," he might just do it again. Not bad for a former schoolteacher turned writer whose first novel, "The Commitments," was initially self-published. In an exclusive interview with Amazon.com's Alix Wilber, Doyle discusses why he decided to write a historical novel this time out, how the Easter Rising of 1916 plays in Ireland today, and whom he considers the greatest living Irish writer you've probably never read. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=roddy+doyle&tag=entertainmentsit RESIDENT ALIEN ************** A transplant himself from Korea to the United States, Chang-rae Lee writes about outsiders with astonishing acuity and elegance. In a conversation with Amazon.com's James Marcus, however, he shares the inside story on his recent novel, "A Gesture Life," and explains why the only good narrator is an unreliable one. Trust him! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=chang-rae+lee&tag=entertainmentsit CLAIRE AND PRESENT DANGER ************************* Claire Messud's "The Last Life" is a brilliant meditation on family--and on the heart-rending fabrications of personal history. Talking with Amazon.com's Kerry Fried, Messud discusses the fragile nature of identity, the deep chasm that separates fiction from fact, and her prose-wrangling predecessors Thomas Bernhard and Philip Roth. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=claire+messud&tag=entertainmentsit SENSE AND CENSORABILITY *********************** "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me." Perhaps we should all remember that little playground chant during this year's Banned Books Week, when once again we stand up for the fundamental rights of free speech and freedom of the press. As Founding Father Benjamin Franklin put it so eloquently, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." So take a chance this week and read a banned book. There are always plenty to choose from. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=banned+books&tag=entertainmentsit EDITOR'S CHOICE *************** "More Matter" by John Updike As if it weren't difficult enough to write one exquisite novel per year, John Updike also cranks out a steady stream of belletristic wonders--reviews, essays, and one-off reflections. These he collects every decade or so, in doorstop volumes that invite constant browsing and revisiting. "More Matter" is the latest such cornucopia, and it's a reminder that Updike is one of our most discerning, least dogmatic critics: he gives every subject his undivided attention, from Edith Wharton to Mickey Mouse to Stephen Jay Gould, and expresses even his distaste with semi-Olympian poise and polish. Check out the latest Updikean omnibus, as well as a list of other criticism titles that are close to James Marcus's nitpicking heart. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=more+matter&tag=entertainmentsit "Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies" by Ken Kalfus Stop that troika, I wanna get off: in his electrifying second collection of stories, Ken Kalfus takes on Russia in the 20th century, giddy utopianism, post-Soviet chaos, and all points in between. "PU-239 and Other Russian Fantasies" offers ample evidence that Kalfus is one of the most imaginative and eclectic new writers at work today. See why Independent and University Presses editor Mary Park can't say "nyet" to this young master, and take a look at a list of her other favorite fiction titles. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=pu-239+and+other+russian+fantasies&tag=entertainmentsit "At Freddie's" by Penelope Fitzgerald Set at a children's acting academy in London, circa 1963, "At Freddie's" is a sublime combination of comedy and melancholy. Penelope Fitzgerald's enactment of theatrical illusion--and the necessary illusions we live by--features several pixilated characters. Among the most memorable are the school's head, the cajoling, commanding Frieda Wentworth, a few deeply unqualified instructors, and several aspiring thespians. Suffice it to say that "the first professional secret they learned was an insane optimism." See why Kerry Fried adores Fitzgerald's fifth novel and check out this great writer's others. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=at+freddie's&tag=entertainmentsit "The Jukebox Queen of Malta" by Nicholas Rinaldi Blame it on Malta--Rocco Raven does. During the early years of World War II, the hapless GI from Brooklyn, New York, arrives on this tiny, windswept island in the middle of a German bombing raid and finds the world turned upside down. Soon he's living in a brothel and working for a shady superior officer who may or may not be in Army Intelligence. But when he meets Melita, jukebox-repairwoman extraordinaire, life takes a surreal turn for the better. Imagine "Catch-22" through the looking glass, and you'll have a fair idea of what to expect from Nicholas Rinaldi's "The Jukebox Queen of Malta." And be sure to browse other favorites on Alix Wilber's shelf this month. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=The+ Jukebox+Queen+of+Malta&tag=entertainmentsit NEW LITERATURE & FICTION PAPERBACKS *********************************** "The Voyage of the Narwhal" by Andrea Barrett http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393319504/entertainmentsit Andrea Barrett's tale of 19th-century Arctic travel and travail is truly an epic of discovery--geographical, scientific, and (of course) personal. "The Farming of Bones" by Edwidge Danticat http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140280499/entertainmentsit Set in the Dominican Republic of the 1930s, Edwidge Danticat's second novel contains more than its share of historical tragedy. But it's also packed with tart, poetic prose and astute observations of human character. "Birds of America" by Lorrie Moore http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312241224/entertainmentsit Lorrie Moore's rapid-fire alternation of mirth and deep melancholy is so perfectly suited to the short form that readers will greet her latest story collection with an audible sigh of delight. NOT YET PUBLISHED ***************** Although only a handful of human beings have seen a word of Michael Crichton's "Timeline" it remains the most hotly anticipated title of the season. Meanwhile, matters maritime are the focus of two other impending bonbons. There's Patrick O'Brian's latest Aubrey and Maturin caper, "Blue at the Mizzen," and Barry Unsworth's "Losing Nelson," in which the exploits of the long-dead admiral provide grist for a demented biographer's mill.
"Timeline"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=timeline&tag=entertainmentsit
"Blue at the Mizzen" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=blue+at+the+mizzen&tag=entertainmentsit
"Losing Nelson" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/?keyword=losing+nelson&tag=entertainmentsit
EYES ON THE PRIZE: GUNTER GRASS GETS THE NOBEL ********************************************** In a surprise early announcement, the Swedish Academy has awarded German author Gunter Grass the highest honor in the world of letters. Grass is most famous for "The Tin Drum," a scathing portrait of prewar and wartime Germany as seen through the eyes of Oskar Matzerath, whose monstrous intelligence remains frozen in the body of a 3-year-old child. By turns comic and horrific, ironic and demonic, "The Tin Drum" is the crowning achievement in a career dedicated to exposing what the academy calls "the forgotten face of history." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=entertainmentsit&path=subst/lists/awards/nobel.html ****** You'll find more great books, articles, excerpts, and interviews in Amazon.com's Literature & Fiction section at Literature & Fiction
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