What’s your favorite book no one else has heard of?
"Tub People," a strange and sinister picture book, allegedly for small children. In my teaching days, it was recommended to me, inexplicably, by a guide for elementary-school science teachers, though it has very little (if anything) to do with science, and it's quite disturbing. I love this book.
What’s the last book that made you laugh?
Donald Hall, in "Notes Nearing Ninety," thinks about what it means to be old. He says, "You know you are nearing ninety when someone refers to an event two years in the future, then gives you a silent, apologetic look."
Also, Lorrie Moore, reflecting on her failed marriage: For bizarre reasons, various newsmen wanted to film the wedding ceremony. And Moore said no. The pastor repeated the comment: "The bride says NO." And this was how the ceremony began.
The last book to make you cry?
"Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You," "White Houses."
The last book that made you furious?
"Jell-O Girls." I was genuinely angry at the straight guy who couldn't understand his sister's behavior. She was molested in childhood; understandably, she had a strong, logical, lingering response to trauma. Her brother couldn't grasp this; he would only refer to her "problems." I was surprised by how furious I felt while reading this memoir. (At the same time, I felt furious with the opposing camp--for taping the brother's comments without the brother's knowledge. Ah, rage!)
I'm also a little bit furious at the person who oversaw the TV adaptation of "Sharp Objects,"because the pacing seems self-indulgent, and yet you can't abandon the show. There's just enough juiciness present to keep you watching--and ramming your head into a wall.
Sing the praises of an overlooked or under-appreciated writer.
Alisa Solomon. This person wrote an entire impassioned history of "Fiddler on the Roof." Here is the part I remember. When writing about Chava, Bock and Harnick wanted to dwell on Tevye's rage. But Jerome Robbins understood that there was a more interesting angle. He understood that the thing that was universal about Tevye was his inner conflict: The Divided Self. He instructed Bock and Harnick to focus on Tevye's painful ambivalence--and this is when the sequence came alive. Useful snippet for any writer, and for any aspiring writer.
Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?
Jenni Konner, Joe Lansdale, Laura Lippman, Sigrid Nunez. Robin Romm. Emma Brockes. Noah Baumbach. Stephen Karam. Anthony Lane. Emily Nussbaum.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
"Shattered," about HRC's (second) failed presidential campaign. Because people think I'm uninterested in politics. But I'm secretly half-interested in politics, which is part of the thing that drew me to my husband. And my husband is intermittently interested in British lady novelists, which is part of the thing that drew him to me.
If you could ghostwrite someone's story, whose would you pick?
My dad, because I have noticed he is compelling to many people, and certainly he is compelling to me. Though he has said he does not want this particular typist ghostwriting his story!
What do you plan to read next?
Parker Posey's memoir? Michael Cunningham's "Land's End"? ..."The Silence of the Girls," by Pat Barker? ..."Charming Billy"?
"Tub People," a strange and sinister picture book, allegedly for small children. In my teaching days, it was recommended to me, inexplicably, by a guide for elementary-school science teachers, though it has very little (if anything) to do with science, and it's quite disturbing. I love this book.
What’s the last book that made you laugh?
Donald Hall, in "Notes Nearing Ninety," thinks about what it means to be old. He says, "You know you are nearing ninety when someone refers to an event two years in the future, then gives you a silent, apologetic look."
Also, Lorrie Moore, reflecting on her failed marriage: For bizarre reasons, various newsmen wanted to film the wedding ceremony. And Moore said no. The pastor repeated the comment: "The bride says NO." And this was how the ceremony began.
The last book to make you cry?
"Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You," "White Houses."
The last book that made you furious?
"Jell-O Girls." I was genuinely angry at the straight guy who couldn't understand his sister's behavior. She was molested in childhood; understandably, she had a strong, logical, lingering response to trauma. Her brother couldn't grasp this; he would only refer to her "problems." I was surprised by how furious I felt while reading this memoir. (At the same time, I felt furious with the opposing camp--for taping the brother's comments without the brother's knowledge. Ah, rage!)
I'm also a little bit furious at the person who oversaw the TV adaptation of "Sharp Objects,"because the pacing seems self-indulgent, and yet you can't abandon the show. There's just enough juiciness present to keep you watching--and ramming your head into a wall.
Sing the praises of an overlooked or under-appreciated writer.
Alisa Solomon. This person wrote an entire impassioned history of "Fiddler on the Roof." Here is the part I remember. When writing about Chava, Bock and Harnick wanted to dwell on Tevye's rage. But Jerome Robbins understood that there was a more interesting angle. He understood that the thing that was universal about Tevye was his inner conflict: The Divided Self. He instructed Bock and Harnick to focus on Tevye's painful ambivalence--and this is when the sequence came alive. Useful snippet for any writer, and for any aspiring writer.
Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?
Jenni Konner, Joe Lansdale, Laura Lippman, Sigrid Nunez. Robin Romm. Emma Brockes. Noah Baumbach. Stephen Karam. Anthony Lane. Emily Nussbaum.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
"Shattered," about HRC's (second) failed presidential campaign. Because people think I'm uninterested in politics. But I'm secretly half-interested in politics, which is part of the thing that drew me to my husband. And my husband is intermittently interested in British lady novelists, which is part of the thing that drew him to me.
If you could ghostwrite someone's story, whose would you pick?
My dad, because I have noticed he is compelling to many people, and certainly he is compelling to me. Though he has said he does not want this particular typist ghostwriting his story!
What do you plan to read next?
Parker Posey's memoir? Michael Cunningham's "Land's End"? ..."The Silence of the Girls," by Pat Barker? ..."Charming Billy"?
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