In the essay “So What Shall I Write About?” from Monkey Business magazine, Haruki Murakami gives readers a glimpse into his creative process and how to become a novelist.
novels
Posted inNonfiction
Trilby, the Novel That Gave Us ‘Svengali’
George du Maurier’s Trilby, published in 1894, became one of the most popular novels of its time. The story introduced us to a young heroine, Trilby, and a memorable villain, Svengali, whose names have since taken on lives of their own.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
You Are What You Eat, Or, Haruki Murakami on Food As a Reflection of the Self
At The Awl, Elaheh Nozari explores food in the work of Haruki Murakami: how food not only offers comfort and nutrition, but about how what we eat speaks to our emotional state and who we are as people.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
But What’s IT All About?: How We Forgot the Murderous Clown
Adrian Daub’s fascinating essay in the LA Review of Books on the Stephen King classic IT — now 30 years old — reveals that the real horror of IT wasn’t Pennywise the supernatural clown, but our own, entirely human ability to forget the horrors of the past.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Cultural Revolution of Anthony Bourdain
How the chaotic ’70s shaped the food writer’s literary trajectory.
Posted inFiction, Nonfiction, Quotes
Obama by the Books
In Vulture, book critic Christian Lorentzen suggests we dispense with terms like “postmodern” and “postwar” when discussing novels, and instead analyze them relative to the presidential administrations under which they were released. What will we mean when someday we refer to Obama Lit? I think we’ll be discussing novels about authenticity, or about “problems of […]
Posted inProfiles & Interviews, Quote Posts, Quotes
Paul Auster: ‘I Feel Utterly Astonished That We Could Have Come to This’
In a candid interview at the Guardian, author Paul Auster — who turns 70 next month — discusses his breadth of work over the decades, American life and politics in the age of Trump, and his new novel, 4321, which he refers to as the biggest book of his life.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Paul Auster: ‘I’m Going to Speak Out as Often as I Can, Otherwise I Can’t Live with Myself’
The publication of 4321, Paul Auster’s new 900-page novel, coincides with the author’s seventieth birthday. In an interview at the Guardian, he talks about escaping death as a child, writing a story about the what-ifs that haunt us, and learning how to live his life in the years ahead under a Trump presidency.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Considering the Novel in the Age of Obama
Have “postmodern” and “postwar” have become outmoded as classifications for novels? Lorentzen suggests it’s more useful to look at trends in fiction relative to the administration they were released under. During Obama’s, he says, novelists looked to answer questions of authenticity. During Trump’s, he anticipates dystopian narratives.
Posted inBooks, Fiction, First Chapters, Story
First Chapters: The Veins of the Ocean, by Patricia Engel
How we became a prison family.