I know I’m a bit late with some of these, but they’ve been hovering on my mind while I’ve been trying to get this new site up and running. Check them out:
J. Robert Lennon has a new blog called Ward Six, which he writes with his wife. Check out his post on Five Chapters (he’s also publishing a story on it soon).
Go visit the Lit Blog Co-op for their new fiction selection.
David Foster Wallace published a beautiful new story called “Good People” in The New Yorker. Since the short story deals with conservative Christians, the title seems to be a nod to Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People.”
There’s been a bit of debate about the National Book Critics Circle finalists, especially for fiction. The titles they chose:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun (Knopf)
Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss (Grove/Atlantic)
Dave Eggers, What is the What (McSweeney’s)
Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land (Knopf)
Cormac McCarthy, The Road (Knopf)
Are these titles too expected and safe? Or are they a genuine representation of the best fiction published in 2006? But to answer those questions, the background question should be answered first: what is the NBCC designed to do? They could be aiming to honor the “best fiction”, no matter whether the authors “need” the publicity or not, or, like several other literary prizes, they could be aiming to help spotlight lesser known artists, to serve more as a career launcher (or propeller). I’d be happy to see books on the list I haven’t heard about (or read) but I also recognize that some prizes should honor the “best” books out there regardless of where the author is in his/her career. Also, what’s with the heavy presence of Knopf? (three out of five!)
Check out Ed’s new Bat Segundo podcast with Christopher Moore (and a recent one with Richard Ford)
Recent Nobel Prize winner Orphan Pamuk cancelled a tour in Germany because of a death threat. (hat tip to Kenyon Review Blog)
