National Book Awards

I’m not wild about the novel that just won the NBA. The less said, the better. Instead, may I recommend “The Friend,” which won in the recent past, and which really deserved its win.

“Your whole house smells of dog, says someone who comes to visit. I say I'll take care of it. Which I do by never inviting that person to visit again.”

Almost the entirety of the novel is just that smart, and surprising, and funny.

Also, it’s a great treat, over Thanksgiving, to rent certain curiosities that Film Forum is spotlighting. (If you can’t be AT Film Forum, you might as well re-create Film Forum in your own home.) The titles that interest me right now are:

“Kind Hearts and Coronets” (Guinness)
“Detective Story” (dir. Wyler)
“Midnight” (script by Wilder)
“Cape Fear” (the Robert Mitchum version)
“Baby Face” (featuring Barbara Stanwyck)

Enjoy!

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