Carlos Fuentes, public intellectual and pivotal literary figure in not only Latin American but all of literature, passed away yesterday at the age of 83. Publisher’s Weekly recently interviewed the author about his forthcoming novel, Vlad.
Carlos Fuentes Passes Away
Bad Feminist, Good Quiche
After the Times Magazine published their interview with Roxane Gay -- in which the Bad Feminist author and Year in Reading alum delves into the title of her latest book and talks about her love of Sweet Valley High -- the crew at McSweeney’s dug up a humor piece the author published in 2010. If you can read the title without laughing, you are more stoic than I am: “I Am Going to Cook a Quiche in My Easy-Bake Oven and You Are Going to Like It.”
Camille Laurens V. Marie Darrieussecq
Two French novelists, two books about dead babies: Literary cat fight, canny PR scheme, or "psychological plagiarism"? Read all about the literary feud that's captivating France here.
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Marriage in Literature
In response to the Bookends question, "What is the Best Portrayal of a Marriage in Literature?," Year in Reading alum Leslie Jamison writes movingly about the poetry of Jack Gilbert and concludes that "this is marriage: not knowing one’s wife but constantly relearning her, not possessing her but rediscovering her, constantly finding a new beloved within the already familiar spouse." For a slightly different perspective on marriage in literature, look no further than our own Matt Seidel's "Survey of Literature's Non-Traditional Marriage Proposals."
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“Not Exactly a Hermit”
Everything we think about Henry David Thoreau is wrong.
“A hustler wrote this?”
“The book documents its time, a time when homosexuality was illegal, and still described in medical books as a mental illness. It is one of the best firsthand accounts of what it was like to be gay in the mid-20th century — ostracized — separate from the mainstream world. It reveals, through its characters, how young men couldn't admit, even to themselves, that they were what society deemed perverted.” On the novel City of Night by John Rechy.
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Standing Atop a Very High Wall Made of Ice
"The right candidate will be a big idea thinker, meaning that they have the capacity to understand the huge idea that White Walkers are coming for us, all of us, and someone’s got to do some shit about it. If you love telling brand stories through digital mediums, can think very conceptually about social media, and love working alongside hardened criminals wearing identical black cloaks, then this might be the perfect step in beginning your career." Good news! The Night's Watch is looking for a social media intern.
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Free Shipping from Powell’s
Portland's famous independent bookseller Powell's is offering free shipping for online orders this weekend.
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