The New Yorker: "Victory Lap" by George Saunders

Last week’s story was very good, but this one is better. Or at least I enjoyed it more and was more compelled to keep reading. Alison is fourteen, almost fifteen. She’s a typical teen, maybe brighter than most. She does ballet, loves everyone, has an active imagination (love the thing with the talking baby deer from whom she hides the death of its mother), and looks down on the neighbor kid, Kyle, with whom she played as a kid. But Kyle, into whose point of view we shift, is also pretty normal, except that his parents keep an extremely tight leash on him. Both kids have parents who are trying to do the right thing, and have taught their kids what is expected of them.

Which makes what happens very interesting, because Alison breaks the rule by opening the door to a stranger, and Kyle breaks the rule by intervening in someone else’s business in order to rescue her.

We also shift, briefly, into the point of view of the twisted guy who is attempting to abduct Alison, and his voice is interesting, but the real highlight of this story would be the voices of Alison and Kyle as rendered solely through their interior monologues. Great stuff. I especially liked Kyle’s, given how repressive his parents are and how rebellious his thoughts are at times. He’s very tightly wound, and he’s going to explode eventually, but not today.

The story ends back in Alison’s head, which is perfect (symmetry, etc.), even though I really would love to get another glimpse of Kyle’s house when his parents find out what he’s done. Maybe Saunders will write that story. It will be a terrific read.

October 5, 2009: “Victory Lap” by George Saunders

Andrew's Book Club Mini-interviews

Andrew has posted mini-interviews with Anne Sanow and Holly Goddard Jones at Andrew's Book Club. Anne's and Holly's books are the picks for September (both of which I'm anxious to read).

Zoetrope Surprise

I subscribe to Zoetrope: All Story, and the latest issue arrived recently. I was busy and set it aside on my desk to look at later. Taking a break this morning, I thumbed through it and was shocked to see the title of the Sam Shepard story: "Thor's Day (Highway 81 North, Staunton, Virginia)."

I live in Staunton, Virginia, not far from Interstate 81. (This story may now join William Henry Lewis's story "I Got Somebody in Staunton" as the only pieces of literature naming our town in the title.)

The story is all dialogue, which is unusual, of course. And it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Staunton. The couple arguing in the story have been driving for a long time and seem to have stopped to eat lunch. They talk about an incident from three days earlier at the Cracker Barrel in Denton (I wonder if they're in the Cracker Barrel just off 81 in Staunton?) and the fact that blueberry pancakes seem to make one of them cry. She (he?) can't explain this. While they're waiting for the waitress, they argue. Then the waitress comes. The end.

Okay, I didn't say it was a great story. But I do like the title.

The New Yorker: "Temporary" by Marisa Silver

Everything is temporary. Vivian is living with Shelly in a temporary space (it’s not really housing at all) and they’re only temporarily friends. Vivian temporarily hooks up with Shelly’s temporary boyfriend. Vivian is a temp working in an adoption agency, where she was hired because she herself was adopted (having temporarily belonged to other parents, I suppose). And her adoptive mother gets very ill but then recovers. Temporarily. And then she dies, having, temporarily, taken up smoking because she thinks women who smoke look elegant. The point, it seems, is that Vivian is searching for permanence, and the only thing permanent in her life is that her mother is dead. The last line of the story is a beautiful statement of impermanence: “She kept her eyes closed as Vivian and her father watched the delicate curl of smoke dissolve and disappear, like sugar on the tongue.”

This is a good one. One of my favorites of the year so far.

September 28, 2009: “Temporary” by Marisa Silver

Podcast of New Dominion Reading

The reading I gave on Friday afternoon at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville is available as a podcast on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.

Also, Josh Weil's reading from Writer House is available: here.

Poetry Reading: Charlotte Matthews

Branching out a little, The Sacred Circle held a poetry reading this evening. The reader was Charlotte Matthews, who lives on the other side of the mountain. She read from her two books published by Iris Press, one clearly autobiographical and one, the more recent of the two, very dreamy. It would have been nice if more people had come, but it was fine anyway--a wonderful thing to do on a Sunday evening.

Book Happenings

What with teaching and trying to make some progress on my new book and taking care of my sick dog (he's better now!) and doing some promotional work for In an Uncharted Country, I haven't been doing much blogging lately. But there are a couple of events that I did recently that I wanted to share.

On Thursday night, my friend Josh Weil, author of The New Valley, was in the area. He gave a reading and talk at Writer House in Charlottesville, and then we were able to spend some time catching up, talking about friends, and comparing book promotion stories. Josh's book is a collection of novellas and it has attracted some national attention because of that--that and the fact that it's really well written.

On Friday, Josh and I did a joint reading at New Dominion Bookshop on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. We each read and then took questions and both of us had fun. The store has signed copies of each of the books for sale now.

That evening, a lot of my local friends joined me at The Darjeeling Cafe to celebrate the publication of the book. That was great fun, and Carey from The Sacred Circle was on hand to sell books. (Signed copies are available locally at The Sacred Circle, as well Bookworks in Staunton and Stone Soup in Waynesboro, and also via PayPal by clicking on the Add to Cart button in the sidebar at right!)

The New Yorker: "Land of the Living" by Sam Shepard

I didn’t hate this story, and it isn’t a novel excerpt, so that makes it one of the best stories of the year so far. A couple from Minnesota is vacationing in Cancun with their kids. There are other snowbirds on the same flight and at the same hotel. There’s a delay at customs, the only point of which that I can determine is to allow husband and wife to discuss his personality change now that he’s on Xanax. And to make them late getting into the hotel, the point of which isn’t clear. The wife, on the drive from the airport to the hotel accuses the husband of having a girlfriend, which he denies. The reason the wife suspects him is that she answered his cell phone and it was a woman on the line. Still, he denies it. On the flight home, an older man, whom the husband has seen several times on the trip, dies. When they get back to the house, the cell phone is ringing.

Huh? The important elements seem to be the husband’s personality change (attributed to Xanax, but possibly owing to the girlfriend, if she exists), the death of the old man, and the ringing cell phone. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this marriage is over, and the death of the old man—who had been in a wheelchair—is a sign to the husband. I bet he’s going to answer the phone and go to the girlfriend, even though it appears that he had been prepared to leave her behind.

Or not. I don’t think the story’s really good enough to worry about what it really means.

September 21, 2009: “Land of the Living” by Sam Shepard

Winter Wheat Festival

I just found out that I'll be giving a craft talk at the Winter Wheat Festival at Bowling Green State University in November. It's not too far from where some family members live in Indiana, so it will make for a nice trip, I think. I'm looking forward to it. (Except for the preparation part.)

Poll: Best of the NBA

Go here to vote in the National Book Foundation's poll of the best of the winners of the National Book Award. NBF has come up with a list of six books from which to choose:
Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, The Stories of John Cheever, The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor, Collected Stories of William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty.

Genius

The winners of this year's MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grants have been announced: For MacArthur Grants, Another Set of Geniuses.

For writers, it's always interesting to see who is honored. This year, writing winners are fiction writers Deborah Eisenberg and Edwidge Danticat, and poet Heather McHugh.

TriQuarterly To Cease Print Edition

Literary Magazines were suffering even before the recession, so they're under even more pressure now, as we've seen in the cases of The Southern Review and New England Review, both threatened with severe cutbacks by their respective university sponsors. Now it's the turn of TriQuarterly, published by my alma mater, Northwestern University.

It is being reported in Evanston Now that Northwestern University press will "regroup" and drop TriQuarterly as a print journal, shifting it online beginning next year. (The link above will take you to the TriQuarterly blog, rather than a genuine web presence for the magazine.) Another big change is that the magazine's operation will be shifted from the School of Continuing Education to the creative program, which has expanded in recent years.

NU/TriQuarterly Press has an extensive list of literary titles. I'm concerned about what will happen to them, but we'll have to wait and see.

In an Uncharted Country at New Dominion Bookshop

Although I've been doing a few book signings, my first reading from In an Uncharted Country will be at noon on Friday, September 25, at the New Dominion Bookshop on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

I will be appearing there with Josh Weil, author of The New Valley, a collection of novellas that is also set in rural Virginia. Having read both books, I can confirm that they work very well together!

Poetry Reading at WLU

If I lived in, say, New York, I wouldn't go to every reading I hear about. Too many. But they aren't that common, and I try to go if I can. Today, I hopped down to Washington & Lee University to hear Melanie Almeder read from her book On Dream Street, along with Lesley Wheeler, reading from her new book, Heathen.

The readings were quite different, but I enjoyed them both. My favorites of Almeder's were from a series on cures. From Wheeler's reading I especially liked the "Daily Show Ekphrasis" and "The Fall"--at least those are the poems that stayed with me on the way home. (I bought the book, though, so I get another crack at them, except for the unpublished poems she read.)

Press 53 Open Awards 2010

Press 53 has announced the lineup of judges for its 2010 Open Awards. Meet the distinguished judges.

Kind Words for In an Uncharted Country

My friend--okay, so not an impartial reviewer--has posted some nice comments about In an Uncharted Country on her blog: In an Uncharted Country, Stories by Clifford Garstang.

Thanks, Linera!

The New Yorker: "The Lower River" by Paul Theroux

In the Contributors’ Notes we learn that Paul Theroux has work of fiction, “A Dead Hand,” forthcoming, but we are not told whether this story, “The Lower River,” is an excerpt (or an extraction, to more accurately describe what TNY often does with novels). In fact, though, A Dead Hand is set in Calcutta, and as far as I can tell the current story has nothing to do with it. Good.

This is the story of Altman, a former volunteer teacher who is returning to Malawi many years later—after his life has crumbled. (Theroux himself was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi.) He remembers the customs and the superstitions, so when he arrives, the village where he’d lived seems familiar, but he soon realizes that it has changed. The people he knew are dead, although he doesn’t reflect on this for long, and the new people who greet him seem to be the grandchildren of the village elders from long ago. He is treated, at least superficially, like a chief. Meanwhile, the actual chief, a young man who once was a driver for an NGO, uses the language of international development—agenda and pipeline and so on—to drain Altman’s cash from him. And Altman attempts to use the people’s fear of snakes to manipulate them, as he did years ago. But Altman contracts malaria, his money disappears, and he sinks deeper into the village. His “agenda” is forgotten, his dream of helping the village abandoned.

Although this story is intriguing and well written, and very suspenseful, it is typical of the reason I’ve given up on Theroux and no longer buy or read his books. Particularly in his non-fiction, but also in his fiction, his condescension toward the developing world is generally in evidence. Here, the entire village is out to swindle Altman, and I suspect that Theroux views all of Africa that way, and probably considers it inevitable. I do not know Africa, but I do know Asia, and I know that Theroux has written about Asia in similar terms. I recognize that this is fiction, and that it actually could happen in the way this story describes, but I see this as Theroux’s indictment of international development—-and I happen to think he’s wrong. And while Theroux has traveled a great deal, I've seen development from a professional angle.

September 14, 2009: “The Lower River” by Paul Theroux

Book Stuff

I've been away, that's my excuse. Last week, I got swamped with preparations for a trip, and then went to Chicago for the weekend. I hope to post pictures later, but here are some highlights:



- I participated (as a member of the planning committee) in the Northwestern University Alumni Association's Annual Leadership Symposium. The program was terrific enough, but the reception on the first night included (I hesitate to say "featured") a book signing by me. So I sat at a table while the bookstore sold books and I signed them, chatted with my fellow Alumni, and drank a little wine.

- On Friday, at the conclusion of the symposium, we had another reception, this time in order to meet the new President of the University, Morty Schapiro. I did have a chance to speak with him for a few minutes, and that was a great opportunity.

- Saturday was the NU football game, and a narrow win over Eastern Michigan (that should not have been narrow), but the highlight was going to the game with my family and my good friend Paul.

- Saturday night was awesome. We had arranged for a party at Carnivale, a hot restaurant in the market district in Chicago. I got there a little later than planned, and one of my guests was waiting when I got there--bad form on my part but traffic was crazy due to a U2 concert, apparently. But gradually people assembled, we ate and drank, I signed books, and 16 of us stayed for dinner at one big table, which worked out perfectly. (I'd been obsessing about that reservation for weeks.) The group included friends from high school, grad school, law school, law practice, and family, and I had a great time.

- Sunday I visited with my high school friend Carol and explored Hyde Park a little, something I don't think I've ever done before.

And now I'm back trying to get caught up on everything because I'm excited to get back to work on my writing tomorrow!

Man Booker Prize Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize has been announced:




A S Byatt The Children's Book (Random House, Chatto and Windus)

J M Coetzee Summertime (Random House, Harvill Secker)

Adam Foulds The Quickening Maze (Random House, Jonathan Cape)

Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate)

Simon Mawer The Glass Room (Little, Brown)

Sarah Waters The Little Stranger (Little, Brown, Virago)

The winner will be named on October 6.

In an Uncharted Country

My collection of linked short stories is now available for purchase from the publisher, Press 53, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Powell's Books, or from your local independent bookstore. Autographed copies can be purchased right here (click the Buy Now button in the sidebar at right under the image of the book), or at my website: Clifford Garstang.

From the Other Side

I enjoy readings and signings, and I enjoy chatting with the authors. It turns out that the author--this author, anyway--enjoys it, too! I had a blast at The Sacred Circle yesterday signing my book. Many of the people who came in were friends (either from The Discussion Group or the Democratic Party), but others had seen the article about me in the newspaper and thought the book sounded interesting. I hope they like it!

The New Yorker: "Distant Relations" by Orhan Pamuk

Despite the relatively exotic setting of Istanbul, this New Yorker story—for a welcome change—takes a traditional form and has a satisfying, if open, conclusion. It may not be the best story of the year, but it’s the best in weeks.

Kemal is thinking back to 1975 and the events that changed his life. He was the son of wealthy parents and had recently returned to Turkey from his studies in America. He was engaged to a beautiful woman from a good family, and his future was bright. Until he met Fusun. Kemal has done the right thing by going to a shop to buy a purse that his fiancée has admired, but when he sees Fusun, a distant cousin (not by blood), his world is rocked. She’s stunning, and there have been whispers about her because she participated in a beauty pageant (not a good thing in Turkey in the 70s, apparently).

In the end, while he realizes he’s still going to get married, he’s also not going to drop Fusun. And so his world is going to get very complicated.

Which makes for a terrific opening to a novel, which I’m guessing this is. Pamuk, we’re told, has a new novel due out in October, “The Museum of Innocence,” and while I don’t know for sure it seems likely that this story is drawn from that work. While I wish the magazine would tell us when they’re publishing novel excerpts, this one, at least, works very well as a stand-alone story.


September 7, 2009: “Distant Relations” by Orhan Pamuk

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is almost upon us. Check out the website, the list of most-challenged books, the banned book map, and more. Many communities have events during the week, so look for a happening near you.

Book Happenings

On Thursday afternoon, I received a shipment of books. I unpacked the boxes, counted them, took pictures, etc. Contrary to suggestions I received from a surprising number of sources, I did NOT roll around in them or sleep with them. I left them in neat stacks on the dining room table, where they still were when I got up this morning.

Another pleasant surprise this morning was a very nice article about me in my local newspaper: Author finds inspiration for short stories in the Valley. The article had originally been scheduled for last Sunday and with each day that passed I figured it was not ever going to appear. But the timing couldn't have been better, given that my first book signing is tomorrow, and the placement on page 3 instead of page 1 hardly seems to matter. [The reporter did a very good job with the piece I thought, although she gave me a BA from Harvard instead of Northwestern (conflating undergrad and graduate degrees, I guess); as mistakes go, that's not bad.]

After a morning writing session that mostly consisted of not writing, I sat down to inscribe some books. I've got a lot to ship and I didn't want to do it all at once. I had some errands in town--a few people mentioned the article--and then did some more signing. Later in the afternoon I took a bunch of books to the post office and then stopped at both the stores in town that had already agreed to carry the book. I signed some books and left them with the owners of the stores. That was a good feeling.

And tomorrow is the big day when I face the public. I'm not doing a reading, but I'll be at The Sacred Circle bookstore for several hours and I already know of a number of people who plan to come in during that time to buy books. I've got my signing pen ready!

New Issue: The Short Review

It's time for another new issue of The Short Review, with lots of good reading ideas.

Lots o' Books