I'm still not quite sure if this is funny or not, but there's something fascinating about this strip, hypnotic even. I think I'm hooked, at least for a couple of books more.
The Twenty-Year Death by Ariel S. Winter
It consists of three novels, pastiches of Georges Simenon, Raymond Chandler and Jim Thompson, telling one story. An interesting idea, the Simenon part is maybe the weakest, and then ending with the strongest, the Thompson part. Each book is complete in itself. I thought maybe something would be revealed in the last one that changed the understanding of the two previous books, but that didn't happen.
The Stars At Noon by Denis Johnson
I finished the book, but I struggled a bit.
A Light That Never Goes Out by Tony Fletcher
A big, fat The Smiths biography. It's solid, even if Morrissey wouldn't talk to the writer. Don't drop it on your foot. At least not the hardcover.
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
His novel about the Boston police strike. Lehane is a good writer, and it's an interesting time period. There's maybe a slight tv miniseries feel to the book, with the hero and heroine to root for and the bad guy to boo for. Not that there's anyting wrong with that.
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell.
My first Mitchell novel. And probably the last. I just found it a bit too new age-y, "everything is connected" and so on. The characters never came off as real people, they're just there to make some point, the dialogues didn't ring true.
Dockwood by Jon McNaught
The language of comics is still being created. It's always interesting to read something that feels new and different. Even though you can see some Chris Ware influence.
Currently reading:
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
The Ecstasy of Influence by Jonathan Lethem
Hi,
ReplyDeleteHave you read George Saunders? He has a couple of short stories ("Isabelle", "My flamboyant grandson") that kind of remind me of your work (Hey, Wait..., Werewolves, etc.). Then again, maybe it's weird to read things that resemble what you do...
No, haven't read anything by him, but it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Saunders is fantastic. He has a new collection out called Tenth of December, most of which I haven't read (yet). But I can wholeheartedly recommend CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, In Persuasion Nation and, perhaps especially--because it was the first one I read--Pastoralia.
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