tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41717529047274334182024-03-13T18:23:17.422-05:00worth the effortthe edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.comBlogger372125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-86301017454122993262016-05-11T11:05:00.002-05:002016-05-11T11:05:43.542-05:002016 READING UPDATE<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Well, I'm off to a semi-slow start but still...I'm sticking with it!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-top: 6px;">
1. Wishin' and Hopin': Wally Lamb<br />2. Love Invents Us: <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1731979218" href="https://www.facebook.com/amy.bloom.33" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Amy Bloom</a><br />3. Luckiest Girl Alive: Jessica Knoll<br />4. In Watermelon Sugar: Richard Brautigan<br />5. Shuttlecock: Graham Swift<br />6. I Was Amelia Earhart: Jane Mendelsohn<br />7. The Maytrees: Annie Dillard<br />8. Fates & Furies: Lauren Groff<br />9. There's Something I Want You to Do: <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1454114928" href="https://www.facebook.com/charles.baxter.180" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Charles Baxter</a><br />10. The Story of Land and Sea: Katy Simpson Smith<br />11. Never Die: Barry Hannah<br />12. The Narrow Road to the Deep North: Richard Flanagan (still reading)</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-5120787842489185282015-08-04T19:48:00.000-05:002015-08-05T20:23:40.559-05:00Review: "What Could Be Said About Pedris Road" by Ru Freeman<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ru Freeman's look into the mind and actions of a child dealing with sexual abuse in "What Could be Said About Pedris Road" is remarkable in the way it weaves into and out of the subconscious mind of a little girl who, from the outset, appears to be speaking to a counselor. The narration is rich in detail and the dialogue used to convey the voice of the main character is very well done.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My reaction to this piece was to want to spend more time talking to my children. This story leaves the reader worried about all of the things children don't say...what the not saying of those things means for us all. If you haven't read Ru Freeman, do...sentences like this one make it worth the time:<br />
<br />
"The neighbor had once screamed her way into their bathroom with a gagging daughter and her mother had placed her mouth of the child's nose and mouth and sucked out wads of phlegm that she spat on the floor, large gelatinous yellow pods of mucous, and brought her back to life. She had a birthday party when she was five and won a blue watering can in a school race when she came second and she had to yell the correct pronunciation of her name into the microphone next to the nuns."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For more, a link to the story online is here:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
http://www.writecorner.com/EditorsChoices2007.asp</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-69394850018242750212015-08-03T19:45:00.000-05:002015-08-04T20:11:02.136-05:00Review: "Black and White" by Lidia Yuknavitch"I am speaking precisely the body of it."<br />
<br />
From this sensual piece by Yuknavitch, the statement says it all. A woman explores her own sexuality with another woman, in front of a camera, and finds she is not afraid of it. The straightforward manner in which the narrator, in the first person, makes her case is startling perhaps but quite breathtaking. <br />
<br />
It's not porn you are reading when you read this story, the narrator warns, or rather cautions. There is nothing dramatized about it. There's no music, no high heels or red lipstick. It quietly slips along, scene by scene, movement by movement, an accounting of a moment fixed in time both by the narrator's memory and by the photographs taken by her lover. <br />
<br />
Yuknavitch definitely speaks the body of it in this story. Endlessly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's a link to the story online for your reading pleasure:<br />
<br />
http://www.nailedmagazine.com/fiction/black-and-white-by-lidia-yuknavitch/<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-84140712545045924362015-08-02T19:35:00.000-05:002015-08-04T20:12:11.509-05:00Review: "Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You?" by William GayA meth head struggles with managing the disappointments in his life, some caused by the drug use, some that preceded it. There are the places in town where he is no longer welcome. There are his run ins with law enforcement. Finally, there's his ex-girlfriend who, after being abused by her new boyfriend, winds up dead, shot in the face at close range, only to have a closed casket funeral, just one more way that in a sick turn of events, Jeepster, the main character, is shielded from the damage precipitated by his choices.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This story is one rich in images you can't soon forget:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"rat tunneling in secret trespass through the upholstery"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"the click of forks and knives, the quickstep rubber-soled waitresses sliding china across Formica"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"a black spotted salamander crouched on its delicate rot feet and watched him with eyes like bits of obsidian"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This one gets a definite HELL YEAH from me on the recommendation front. So much is right about the writing for so much to be wrong about its detailed predicaments.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
Here's a link to the short story online for your reading pleasure:<br />
<br />
http://genius.com/William-gay-where-will-you-go-when-your-skin-cannot-contain-you-annotated</div>
</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-38668898368694834702015-08-01T20:36:00.000-05:002015-08-04T20:09:35.260-05:00Review: "Transit Bed" by Italo CalvinoFrom the Postwar Stories section of his collection titled DIFFICULT LOVES, Italo Calvino gives us the story "Transit Bed," a look into the comings and goings of men from every class through the bed of Armanda, a voluptuous woman whose husband nightly relinquishes his post for the sake of her "work."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Calvino paints a vivid picture of the lengths to which one married couple will go to stay safe in the aftermath of war. There is no emotion. There is only necessity. The writing matches this theme, and I like how sparse but to the point Calvino keeps the narrative. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This one gets a 3 out of 5 for me...a lovely start to this reading project.</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-26199049420011184752015-08-01T19:54:00.000-05:002015-08-02T20:17:09.494-05:00Short Storying it Up! It's time to revisit the short story a day project I started in 2012--READ ONE, REVIEW ONE<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>WEEK ONE-AUGUST 2015</b></span></h2>
<br />
<br />
To start things off, the first week will go a little something like this:<br />
<br />
August 1: <b>"Transit Bed"</b> by Italo Calvino<br />
<br />
August 2: <b> "Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You?"</b> by William Gay<br />
<br />
August 3: <b>"Black and White"</b> by Lidia Yuknavitch<br />
<br />
August 4: <b>"What Could Be Said About Pedris Road" </b>by Ru Freeman<br />
<br />
August 5: <b>"The Little Knife"</b> by Michael Chabon<br />
<br />
August 6: <b>"The Case for Psychic Distance"</b> by Jennifer Hanno<br />
<br />
August 7: <b>"Neighbours"</b> by Tim Wintonthe edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-41294939124941553872015-04-06T21:59:00.003-05:002015-04-06T21:59:20.391-05:002015 is here...let's READ!!<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
2015 Reading--off to a decent start</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
1. Damage--Josephine Hart<br />2. For the Time Being-- Annie Dillard<br />3. All the Light We Cannot See-Anthony Doerr <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />4. The Comfort of Strangers- Ian McEwan<br />5. The Alchemist- Paolo Coelho<br />6. Mangos, Bananas, and Coconuts- Himilce Novas</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
7. The Boys of the Dark-Robin Gaby Fisher<br />(currently reading-SOOO very good, a great creative non-fiction look at the tragedy that was the Arthur C. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna!)</div>
</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-51124615818204203542014-10-16T15:42:00.001-05:002014-10-16T15:42:11.287-05:00Reading Again...Trying To...HopefullyOkay, here's where I'm at as of my last post from August:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
19. Outlander-Diana Gabaldon<br />
<br />
20. The Sisters Brothers-Patrick DeWitt<br />
<br />
21. Sharp Objects-Gillian Flynn<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
3 novels<br />
<br />
That's something right? I read 3 novels in 2 months...I shouldn't be disappointed in myself, I know, I shouldn't, but REALLY? I've gotta make some time...gonna read the HADES out of this next novel...oh yeah, starting...uh...soon, real soon...really...I am.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Next Up: Jacqueline Woodson's <i>Feathers</i><br />
<br />the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-23828876535357772232014-10-16T08:00:00.001-05:002014-10-16T08:00:35.895-05:00PUBLICATION!!!!So, I am officially a published short story writer...at least of one story thank to the good folks at Word Riot. Here is a link to the story...ENJOY!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
http://www.wordriot.org/topics/short-stories</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(more comments to follow, too ecstatic right now to type properly)</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-62961293386603938612014-08-14T22:11:00.002-05:002014-08-14T22:11:31.819-05:00Summer Reading Update--what what?here's where I'm at as of my last post:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
14. And the Mountains Echoed-Khaled Housseni<br />
<br />
15. Divergent-Veronica Roth<br />
<br />
16. Insurgent-Veronica Roth<br />
<br />
17. The Wide and Starry Sky-Nancy Horan<br />
<br />
18. Gone Girl-Gillian Flynn<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Currently Reading: Outlander-Diana Gabaldon<br />
<br />
<br />
Time to step it up a notch people!!!the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-28497629498758356332014-05-28T08:44:00.001-05:002014-05-28T08:51:21.844-05:00The Little Reading Engine that Could<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5326385717fd82490546568" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
</span></h5>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #ffd966; display: inline;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<br /></div>
</span></h5>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Trying for at least 30 reads this year...I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2014</span></div>
</span></h5>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. </span> The Flamethrowers<span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Rachel Kushner</span></span></div>
</span></h5>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">2. <b>The Fault in our Stars</b> by John Green</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">3. <b>Too Loud a Solitude </b>by Bohumil Hrabal</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Reluctant Fundamentalist</b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by Mohsin Hamid</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The History of Love</b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by Nicole Krauss</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">6. <b>Panic Blood</b> by Catherine Texier</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Let's Pretend this Never Happened</b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by Jenny Lawson</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">8. <b>The Goldfinch</b> by Donna Tartt</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">9. T<b>he Enchanted Life of Adam Hope</b> by Rhonda Riley</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">10. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dancer</b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by Colum McCann</span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">11. <b>The Final Solution</b> by Michael Chabon</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">12. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">An Abundance of Katherines </b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">by John Green</span></div>
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">13. </span><b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">White Girls </b><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">by Hilton Als (reading currently)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; display: inline; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
</h5>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">
</span></div>
</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-18255782130421455632014-05-08T22:50:00.000-05:002014-05-08T23:24:16.446-05:00The Beast that was April...I SURVIVED!!!!<br />
<br />
I should just leave it at that. I should. I could. But I won't.<br />
<br />
I won't because surviving a month like this one:<br />
<br />
- during which I crammed in two jury trials in federal court where I fought the big bad State of Florida for discriminating against the little people<br />
<br />
- during which I read three novels (The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley, and Dancer by Colum McCann)<br />
<br />
- during which I wrote probably the best piece of short fiction of my life and was nearly published FINALLY for a different short story I'd submitted in January and in which bayonets and a stampede over clearance priced alarm clocks are both prominently featured<br />
<br />
-during which I released my first novel into the world for others to read...or not...published online under a pen name to keep my former ME distinct and apart from the current ME, at least when it comes to my writing style, subject matter, and audience (totally unnerving and exciting and vulnerability exposing) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J4BKATC/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/189-2056223-8010662?pc_redir=1395314201">http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J4BKATC/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/189-2056223-8010662?pc_redir=1395314201</a><br />
<br />
-during which I ran my first race in nearly a year (along with my three young daughters, a troop of boy scouts, and an enormous pack of recently mange free rescue dogs)<br />
<br />
This is a survival you talk about, one you record in the dusty pages of your memory, alongside your recollections of the recent farmer's market and how it felt to pass it by without stopping and how it felt to realize you didn't care...you talk about a month like this past April so that later, when your free hours are even fewer than now, you will think fondly on the time as "not so bad" as if being "not so bad" is an objective state of being...but it's not...<br />
<br />
Still, at least I survived...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-10164336710092972902014-03-16T18:57:00.002-05:002014-05-28T08:52:25.966-05:00Out with the Old, In with the New--reading updates<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">S</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">o, here's how 2013 went down...</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5326385717fd82490546568" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">1. The Paper Men- William Golding<br />2. Tinkers- Paul Harding<br />3. Wild- Cheryl Strayed<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />4. The Long March- William Styron<br />5. Reading Lolita in Tehran- Azar Nafisi<br />6. Everyman- Philip Roth<br />7. Border Crossing- Pat Barker<br />8. Beasts- Joyce Carol Oates<br />9. Ironweed- William Kennedy<br />10. The Misalliance- Anita Brookner<br />11. The Rum Diary- Hunter S. Thompson<br />12. As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner<br />13. Point Omega- Don Delillo<br />14. A Lesson Before Dying- Ernest Gaines<br />15. Bel Canto- Ann Patchett<br />16. A Sport and a Pastime -James Salter<br />17. Blood Meridian-Cormac McCarthy<br />18. Loving Frank- Lisa Horan<br />19. Orphan Master's Son- Adam Johnson<br />20. Mother Mother Night -Kurt Vonnegut<br />21. Rapture-Susan Susan Minot<br />22. The Body Artist-Don Delillo<br />23. Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins </span></span></div>
</span></h5>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, here's where I'm at so far in 2014:</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; display: inline;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_532638994fa1b4f44560708" style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br />January:<br /><br />1. The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />2. The Fault in Our Starts by John Green<br />3. Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal<br />4. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid<br /><br /> February:<br /><br />5. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss </span></span></div>
</span></h5>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Panic Blood by Catherine Texier</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"></span><br />
<br />
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">
</span>
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">March:</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">
</span>
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">
</span>
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson</span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;">
</span></span>
<div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;">
</span><div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #b45f06; color: white;">Currently reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt...a big ole book but from what I hear, totally worth it...CHEERS Y'ALL!!!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
</div>
</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-32627306164123635092013-11-19T12:07:00.002-06:002013-11-19T12:07:32.045-06:00Reading Update---how did I manage this?By the end of April, I'd read 15 novels in the year 2013. But, then I got busy with a wedding and with moving and starting a new job and well, my reading slowed down a bit. Still, I managed a few more novels since that time and for sake of keeping track, here's what my continued reading has looked like:<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
16. <i>A Sport and a Pastime </i>James Salter</div>
<div>
17. <i>Blood Meridian</i> Cormac McCarthy</div>
<div>
18. <i>Loving Frank</i> Lisa Horan</div>
<div>
19. <i>Orphan Master's Son </i>Adam Johnson (almost done)</div>
<div>
20. <i>Mother Night</i> Kurt Vonnegut</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm not sure what I'll read next but I'd like to make December a reading month. After spending the month of November writing, it will be time to catch my breath with a novel or two...or more, at least I can hope!</div>
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-48127871574618525372013-11-03T22:50:00.002-06:002013-11-03T22:50:27.553-06:00NaNo...oh noI totally just wrote over 3,000 words today. I'm stoked...take that Mr. Negative Thoughts Making Me Think My Writing is Over and Done With...ha, I'm so back. <br />
<br />
:)<br />
<br />
Okay...back to the word count peoples!the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-4795419318526817502013-10-24T21:27:00.000-05:002013-10-24T21:27:16.027-05:00Fits and Starts...and ResetsI am rounding out the month of October with this last batch of short stories in hopes that it will give me the UMPF I need to get my November writing on...<br />
<br />
Thomas Pynchon-"Entropy"<br />
Michael Farris Smith- "I am Not a Rock Star"<br />
Nikolai Gogol- "The Overcoat"<br />
Charlotte Perkins Gillman- "The Yellow Wallpaper"<br />
O'Henry- "The Thing's the Play" <a href="http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/ThinPlay.shtml">http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/ThinPlay.shtml</a><br />
Netta Syrett- "Thy Heart's Desire"<br />
Seamus Scanlon- "The Long Wet Grass" <a href="http://www.fishpublishing.com/Fish-Anthology-2011.php#wetgrass">http://www.fishpublishing.com/Fish-Anthology-2011.php#wetgrass</a><br />
<br />
Mixing some flash fiction in to spice things up, I think this might do the trick with only one week left...BRING IT!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-19634637854242410302013-10-20T13:01:00.001-05:002013-10-20T13:01:30.229-05:00Preparations-short storying it upI WILL WRITE THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL NEXT MONTH.<br />
<br />
Okay, so, maybe not but I plan on writing something, something substantial, and until then, I will have spent October trying to get myself into the right frame of mind, to get my brain working in sentences that DO NOT contain arguments. It's a struggle, my job zaps it out of me at times but it only takes a paragraph, or a George Saunders sentence like "an empty rocking chair rocks faster than any mortal granny could" and I remember how to do it, or at least how to think about doing it. <br />
<br />
Writing it is different. I've piddled with a few short shorts over the last week to get my fingers accustomed to moving in time with the creative bursts of thought that I hope will get me from word to word and I have to admit that I'm getting excited thanks to the short stories from these authors:<br />
<br />
Adam Johnson- "The History of Cancer"<br />
Kim Brooks- "Year's Time"<br />
Penelope Fitzgerald- "The Prescription"<br />
Donald Barthelme- "The School"<br />
Alice Munro- "Free Radicals"<br />
George Saunders- "A Lack of Order in the Floating Object Room"<br />
James Joyce- "Araby"<br />
Judith Merrill- "That Only a Mother"<br />
Lawrence Scott- "Chameleon"<br />
Jay McInerney- "Con Doctor"<br />
Ferroll Sams- "Harmony Ain't Easy"<br />
<br />
<br />
Today, I'm tackling Roddy Doyle's story "Teaching" which can be found here: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/04/02/070402fi_fiction_doyle?currentPage=all">http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/04/02/070402fi_fiction_doyle?currentPage=all</a><br />
<br />
<br />
CHEERS!<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-43303169586065315282013-08-22T13:28:00.000-05:002013-08-22T13:28:13.631-05:00Novels? What are those?I got married. <br />
<br />
I moved to a different city.<br />
<br />
I started a new job.<br />
<br />
I inherited a two new dogs and a step-daughter.<br />
<br />
Yeah...so, did I read much in the last two months? The answer to that question is clear, right...right?<br />
<br />
I tackled Cormac McCarthy's novel, <i>Blood Meridian</i>, and am now finishing <i>Loving Frank </i>by Lisa Horan. <br />
<br />
Next up is Adam Johnson's <i>Orphan Master's Son</i>. After that, I don't know. I need to write more. Work needs to slow down. My life needs to help me out a little...seriously...thank goodness for a loving and supportive husband. <br />
<br />
That's right...I got married! the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-57119251892410714332013-06-03T12:29:00.000-05:002013-06-03T12:33:11.686-05:00Whatever Happened to my Glasses?I didn't realize how much I relied on my reading glasses (the cheap over the counter magnifying kind 2.00+) until I lost every pair and tried to spend the last two weeks of May reading without them. Here is what it was like: <br />
<br />
1. This loss was beyond frustrating made more frustrating by the fact that I could never seem to remember to buy a replacement pair.<br />
<br />
2. When I did find a pair much to my excitement, I realized that the lens' had been scratched by either my children or by beach sand in my purse where yes, I let my glasses beat around without a case to protect them.<br />
<br />
3. I found myself resorting to short stories instead of digging into novels because I'd have to stop after every 5-10 pages and let my eyes rest. So, where I'd started reading <i>Look Homeward Angel </i>before I lost my glasses, I couldn't return to the novel until now. Instead, I read a few short stories from Claire Vaye Watkins collection <i>Battleborn </i>and I also read a few of Terry Southern's stories from his collection, <i>Red Dirt Marijuana</i>.<br />
<br />
4. The only novel I did tackle was James Salter's <i>A Sport and a Pastime</i> which, because of the "steamy" subject matter, I read despite my weary eyes.<br />
<br />
<br />
All of this said, I was surprised to see how my lack of reading glasses affected my reading choices. But, I got my cateyes back and I'm now elbow deep into Cormac McCarthy's <i>Blood Meridian</i> and I have to say, it feels good to have the novel back within my grasp.the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-15946691219152714142013-05-22T09:22:00.005-05:002013-05-22T09:24:16.311-05:00The Locomotion Commotion My title to this post is sappy. Yes, I know, but with the amount of time I've spent researching arboreal locomotion lately in an effort to, for some reason, incorporate a sugar glider into a short story of mine, this fixation and the resulting corniness can only be expected. I've learned a lot but these are two facts that stick out to me: <br />
<br />
- squirrels have reversible feet, ie, their ankles allow their feet to swivel 360 degrees<br />
- prehensile tails in many animals that live in trees actually have an adhesive patch on the tip<br />
<br />
Oh, the movements and adaptations of the various animals that I've studied are more than enough fodder for fiction...the imagery and symbolism and sheer wonder of these creatures and their ability to conduct arboreal locomotion is good stuff, the kind of stuff you won't soon forget after reading. See for yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arboreal_locomotion<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The fiction that has flowed so far is here, incomplete, but on its way to being something...I think...<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Facts like, the ins and outs of arboreal locomotion, a tree to tree <br />
movement that kept the animals safe from predators and<br />
with easy access to otherwise unreachable food. To have that <br />
life, Rae Ann thought, the nights of a marsupial with membranous hands, <br />
curled into its mother’s pouch when the flying was over. Did they know <br />
about the torpor they’d experience too? Did they know it before it <br />
happened to them? Rae Ann would rather hibernate. The distinction was one <br />
without meaning. </i><br />
<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-45994135487713764812013-05-01T09:10:00.001-05:002013-05-01T09:10:17.763-05:00The Big ReadSo, April was a banner reading month for me particularly given how busy my schedule has been otherwise...and with that in mind, here is what I've been up to:<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, here is how my 2013 reading year is shaping up:<br />
<br />
1. <i>The Paper Men</i> William Golding<br />
2. <i>Tinkers </i>Paul Harding<br />
3. <i>Wild </i>Cheryl Strayed<br />
4. <i>The Long March</i> William Styron<br />
5. <i>Reading Lolita in Tehran</i> Azar Nafisi<br />
6. <i>Everyman</i> Philip Roth<br />
7. <i>Border</i> Crossing" Pat Barker<br />
8. <i>Beasts</i> Joyce Carol Oates<br />
9. <i>Ironweed </i>William Kennedy<br />
10. <i>The Misalliance</i> Anita Brookner<br />
11. <i>The Rum Diary</i> Hunter S. Thompson<br />
<br />
April Reading:<br />
<br />
12. <i>As I Lay Dying</i> William Faulkner<br />
13. <i>Point Omega</i> Don Delillo<br />
14. <i>A Lesson Before Dying</i> Ernest Gaines<br />
15. <i>Bel Canto</i> Ann Patchett<br />
<br />
Currently, I am reading, FINALLY, Thomas Wolfe's <i>Look Homeward Angel</i>. Yep...I've avoided this book for the last 3 years and it's time. It's calling me. The first two paragraphs stop you and you read them again and again and you feel drawn in, at least I did. There's something waiting for me in this novel and I'm scared and excited at the same time to find out what it is. Here's how the novel begins. Judge for yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxpJjGOgHymVkn-xEY8ASMaiaTq4Z3hj4MCx7pZeiB8SuTbKgi3v6l2mJb2bVSrDt-AEvZrmV3-iUXpUWZ0cuVLsc-TtkmdR-gMkrkNz47IUHfPV27KwleOXOQHk62sCYdfb1tkLwOFVa/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxpJjGOgHymVkn-xEY8ASMaiaTq4Z3hj4MCx7pZeiB8SuTbKgi3v6l2mJb2bVSrDt-AEvZrmV3-iUXpUWZ0cuVLsc-TtkmdR-gMkrkNz47IUHfPV27KwleOXOQHk62sCYdfb1tkLwOFVa/s320/image.jpg" /></a>the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-24454642990454146802013-04-25T09:46:00.001-05:002013-04-25T09:46:34.558-05:00Short Story Review: Nelson Algren's "how the devil came down division street"I have a review that went up today on the wonderful website, www.shelfactualization.com<br />
<br />
A link to my review is available at the link below. Next up, I'll be reviewing a short story by American writer, Terry Southern. Thanks for reading folks!<br />
<br />
http://www.shelfactualization.com/2013/04/short-story-club-how-devil-came-down.htmlthe edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-9847516774144612452013-04-17T21:49:00.000-05:002013-04-17T21:49:53.217-05:00Faulkner and DeLilloI spent the last two weeks reading these two literary heavyweights, between William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" and Don DeLillo's short novel, "Point Omega" and while the difference between the writing styles and subject matter could not be more stark, somehow the transition between the two voices was a smooth one. Both works had a distinct vision and regardless of how that vision was expressed in words, I felt both authors achieved a sort of "beyondness" to the story, writing outside of the expected realm usually inhabited by fiction, particularly American fiction, at least in my thinking.<br />
<br />
My expectations with Faulkner were understandably high but I didn't have any expectations one way or the other with DeLillo. So, I was impressed and as a result have spent a considerable amount of time researching the studies and writings of the Jesuit thinker and paleontologist [Pierre] Teilhard de Chardin, a huge influence on DeLillo's writing and basic philosophy. <br />
<br />
And THIS is why I read literature, for the rabbit holes, for the tunnels into nowhere or better yet, into everywhere. I mean really, a Jesuit paleontologist...how could I not take the bait, google it and google it and google it some more?? I'm hooked on these two novelists and although these authors are not often talked about alongside one another, there is something about them that meshes and I'm ready for Round Two with these grizzly bears so that I can discover what that something is.<br />
<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-26420524455238127612013-04-02T10:12:00.001-05:002013-04-02T10:12:29.096-05:00First Quarter DownAs I closed out my first quarter of the year, I read two novels in its last week which has me super proud except for the fact that it slowed down my writing for that week. <br />
<br />
But, but it was sunny outside and there was a slight breeze and, there was this great lawn chair where I got to sit by this great guy while he read and wrote and soaked up the sun too...so, yeah, I read my butt off for the last week, especially over the weekend, adding books ten and eleven to my list for the year's reading thus far!<br />
<br />
Here's to next quarter!<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, here is how my 2013 reading year is shaping up:<br />
<br />
1. "The Paper Men" William Golding<br />
2. "Tinkers" Paul Harding<br />
3. "Wild" Cheryl Strayed<br />
4. "The Long March" William Styron<br />
5. "Reading Lolita in Tehran" Azar Nafisi<br />
6. "Everyman" Philip Roth<br />
7. "Border Crossing" Pat Barker<br />
8. "Beasts" Joyce Carol Oates<br />
9. "Ironweed" William Kennedy<br />
10. "The Misalliance" Anita Brookner<br />
11. "The Rum Diary" Hunter S. Thompson<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171752904727433418.post-39795344865614576952013-03-19T09:23:00.001-05:002013-03-19T09:23:34.048-05:00Philip Roth at 80...still relevant, still randyMarch 19, 2013, the 80th birthday of one of greatest living American writers, if not THE greatest of our time. Philip Roth, having just retired from the profession, is still racking up awards and shocking readers and his many admirers by retiring and by not apologizing for it or for the thousands and thousands of words he left behind. I could post link after link of articles and interviews to celebrate his achievement but that's been done before and will be done today and in the future several times over and with the recent PBS documentary covering his life and his writing, there will only be more interest in Philip Roth, as if the prospect of "more" makes sense to this man anymore. (see link below for information on the documentary)<br />
<br />
For me, on a day like today, I like to look back at my reading and focus on the books of his I loved, the ones that I loved because I experienced them alone and years after they were written, alone with only my brain and my life experiences to guide my judgment, alone with the books themselves and the world created by Roth, worlds often times more depraved than I could have imagined. For example, the experience of reading "Sabbath's Theater" won't soon leave me. But that novel is no surprise, right? A sexual deviant finger puppeteer is bound to have some tantalizing adventures and mishaps. The book won critical acclaim and is considered by some, me included, to be Roth's best novel. Roth himself has the novel in his top 5.<br />
<br />
But, there is one of his novels that I always recommend to others and have found few who would read it. For me, it was "Deception" one of Roth's most experimental novels in that it is comprised almost entirely of dialogue with literally only a handful of actual paragraphs to keep the story moving. Published in 1990, the story is told from the point of view of Philip Roth and tracks his conversations with various women before and after sex. Despite this approach, I still felt connected to the women in the story and found the novel both misogynistic and strangely empowering at the same time. <br />
<br />
<br />
This underrated and infrequently mentioned novel is definitely worth the read for anyone who hasn't read Philip Roth or for anyone who has and still doesn't know what he or she is missing. So on his birthday, I celebrate his writing, ALL of it and while I could spend more time on the Roth canon, I think stopping with <br />
"Deception" is just fine. I mean, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want some other folks to read this damn book so I can talk about it with them!! <br />
<br />
CHEERS!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
References:<br />
<br />
<br />
DOCUMENTARY-- http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/174029423/in-philip-roth-unmasked-an-unadorned-portrait-of-an-aging-master<br />
<br />
REVIEW-- http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/11/specials/roth-deception.html<br />
<br />
BIO-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Roth<br />
<br />
<br />
the edge is what I havehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10573670526479031136noreply@blogger.com0