Patrick Somerville’s latest novel, This Bright River, was recently reviewed in The New York Times by Janet Maslin, who found the book to be, among other things, “soggy.” Unfortunately, some of her critique was based on a mistaken reading of Somerville’s work. I’ll let Patrick take it from here.
“The New York Times, the paper of record, had written a fictitious character to verify a fact.”
Tuesday New Release Day
New this week stateside is buzzed-about Booker shortlister Room by Emma Donoghue. Also out: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, a new collection by “20 Under 40” lister Yiyun Li; Sigrid Nunez’s post-apocalyptic Salvation City; and a McSweeney’s-published memoir Half a Life by Chang and Eng author Darin Strauss.
Smile More
Recommended (Frustrating) Reading: “Men Explain Submissions To Me,” an eye-opening new piece from Sarah Blake at The Rumpus.
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Sporadic Moments of Contact
“I realize that, like most fantasies, reality is likely to be more complicated. For starters, literary communities—like most communities—have echelons. They have cliques; they have ghettos. You are the wrong age, work in the wrong genre, don’t know the right people, don’t teach at the same program … Anyone who thinks this isn’t true is someone squarely at the center of his or her chosen circle.” On peripherality and the uncertain nature of literary community.
Roaches are Red, Violets are Blue
Looking for a last minute Valentine’s gift? Well, in the words of The Bronx Zoo, “How better to express your appreciation for that special someone than to name one of the Bronx Zoo’s 58,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches after them?”
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Roughing It
Coming this fall: a newly published autobiography that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote before she decided to retool her life story into the Little House on the Prairie books. Originally intended for an adult audience, Pioneer Girl gives a decidedly unsanitized account of Ingalls Wilder’s life, including love triangles, deadbeat fathers and episodes of drunken abuse. In The Telegraph, Rosa Prince compiles a preview of the new book.
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More Steve Jobs
In 1985, Steve Jobs was interviewed for Playboy. (Note: link is safe for work)
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Cheaper New Kindle Has Arrived with a Wi-Fi Option
Amazon has refreshed its line of Kindles once again. The price point on a basic version that utilizes Wi-Fi has dropped way down to $139. Opt for the 3G version and the price is $189. The device now boasts better contrast, less glare in sunlight, and it now comes in a new color: “graphite.”
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