Sara Nović writes for The Believer about the deaf protagonist of Stephen King’s The Stand. As she explains it, “This is the plight of the average deaf character: to be plagued by the hearing author’s own discomfort with the idea of silence.” Pair with Lydia Kiesling’s Millions essay on King.
A Good Deaf Man Is Hard to Find
Devastating Stories
Recommended Reading: "The Misanthropic Genius of Joy Williams" in The New York Times Magazine. Her latest collection of short stories, The Visiting Privilege: New and Collected Stories, which was included on our most anticipated list, will be released on September 8th. “When I asked Williams what she wants out of a great story, she replied, ‘I want to be devastated in some way.’”
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The Pathos of Reno
“My friend Kathy was a Mustang Ranch girl in the eighties, had a line on how to bring cocaine into town, and was party girl central and making a lot of money. She was in the center of it in a way that my characters can see but they can’t ever get to. Reno is a beautiful, beat up, and weird town devoted to this false notion of luck. It’s a beautiful place.” Talking with Christian Kiefer.
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Thou thing of no bowels thou!
Behold the Shakespearean insult generator, thou globe of sinful continents.
Milk It Until It’s Dead
Joseph P. Kahn writes for The Boston Globe that books published posthumously are among the most profitable, from Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy to David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King. Pair with the opening lines of The Pale King, and a previously unpublished scene.
Tale of a Stalker, Ctd.
Not long after James Lasdun released his new book, Give Me Everything You Have, Jessica Freeman-Slade reviewed it for The Millions. Now, in the latest issue of the LRB, Nick Richardson offers his own take. (You could also check out our own Mark O’Connell's interview with Lasdun.)
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Lonely Writers
Recommended Reading: Michele Filgate on the loneliest artists of all: writers. Pair with Angela Qian’s piece on a lonely writer, Olivia Laing.
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