N+1’s Marco Roth turns in an ambitious and historically nuanced exploration of white grievance in a putatively postracial America. Highly recommended.
Sarah Palin, White Goddess
Tuesday New Release Day
On shelves this week are Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey, The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall, and a provocative new book by Philip Pullman, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ.
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“When you’re a kid, optimism is overvalued.”
Scaachi Koul’s childhood friend introduced her to Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events books candidly: “You’d probably like them,” she said. “They’re really depressing.” Now, in a piece for Buzzfeed, Koul explains how the works have helped her into adulthood. (Bonus: Koul’s forthcoming essay collection, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, made our Great 2017 Book Preview.)
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Multi-Talented Nick Cave
You have to be a little in awe of the multi-disciplinary artist. Musician Nick Cave, who made his screenwriting debut with The Proposition, talks to the New Yorkerabout his new novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, as well as the multi-media audio book version.
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Selling Marxism
An extremely rare copy of Karl Marx‘s Das Kapital sold at auction for $51,739 this past month. That’s more than five times as much as this extremely rare copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
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Would a softer sort of blackmail be called graymail?
Over at Melville House, editor Ellie Robbins has discovered an App that might help you finish your novel: it involves your Facebook friends, one compromising picture, and some, um, lighthearted blackmail.
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The Privilege of Innocence
“Many black parents tell black children to strive; to seize opportunities that will enable upward mobility. However, they also give their children a poison capable of eroding black children’s innocence. They tell them to be twice as good; that there is no room for failure or mistakes.” Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun, writes about how black children are denied the privilege of innocence.