Slacking or not?

I leave it to you, the trio of readers stopping by daily.  Once again I'm falling into the trap of starting up my next book before writing my review of the book just finished.  I could say it's because there's always something going on with Dzanc Books, or that I'd like to think about the book a bit longer first.  I'm not sure why, but it's a trap I seem more and more likely to fall into as time goes on.

To at the very least acknowledge the books I've been reading lately, a quick post - these are not the reviews, not even the mini-reviews, just quick acknowledgments.  Much more later (I'd promise but I've done that before).

Last Days by Brian Evenson (2009, Underland Press).  Read late last year, and again, this week, after reading the fantastic essay by Matt Bell in The Quarterly Conversation.  Maybe Evenson's best, which is saying a LOT.

The Annotated Nose by Marc Estrin (2008, Unbridled Books).  Since his debut novel, Insect Dreams:  The Half-Life of Gregor Samsa, Marc Estrin has been a writer to watch;  one filled with ideas using his fiction to work his way through those ideas.  This book, with his fictional tale of a character, and that fictional character's annotated notes regarding that fictional tale, side by side, "edited" by Estrin, is a wild ride.

Madewell Brown by Rick Collignon (2009, Unbridled Books).  A book I've bugged both the author and publishers about for about three years now, maybe an email or phone call every 3 to 6 months - "Is there a date yet?"  I loved Collignon's first three books set in Guadalupe, New Mexico, and the return to that fine little town is as magical as those three reads were.  It's sad to me, while yet a bit exciting, just how inexpensively you can find the first three titles online (The Journal of Antonio Montoya, Perdido, and A Santo in the Image of Cristobal Garcia).  I give you my highest recommendation to do so, to order them, to read them, and to pre-order this book, due in May, from Unbridled Books and get ready for a handful of hours of enjoyment.

Once the Shore by Paul Yoon (2009, Sarabande Books).  A collection of 8 stories previously published in locales such as EWN favorites One Story, Glimmer Train, Small Spiral Notebook and American Short Fiction.  Having read the majority of these in their original publishings, it was a treat to read them again, and side by side with Yoon's other fiction. 

American Rust by Philipp Meyer (2009, Spiegel & Grau).  A fantastic debut by Philipp Meyer - many thanks to publicist Jynne Dilling Martin for suggesting to me that it was one I'd like.  She was dead-on accurate.  Prescient in its look at the American economy, frighteningly accurate in its portrayal of areas of our country that had dedicated themselves to the steel industry, and full of incredibly interesting and full characters whose lives the reader is immediately captivated by.

Fugue State by Brian Evenson (2009, Coffee House Press).  Okay, simply put, we here at the EWN are Evenson slappies.  Aside from $100 limited editions or $400 really limited editions, if he writes it, and we can afford it, it will be read.  I don't know if there's a writer out there so highly regarded publishing with so many different independent publishers, seemingly allowing all of them to get a piece of the action (Percival Everett does come to mind, though lately he's been on a Graywolf Press train, he also has a nice history of spreading the wealth).  A short story collection, it allows the reader to see many aspects of Evenson's mindset, a mindset that I do recommend the reader prepare for before diving in.

Drift and Swerve by Samuel Ligon (2009, Autumn House Press).  Autumn House Press is the new residence of editor extraordinaire, Sharon Dilworth.  Not once did she publish a story collection over at Carnegie Mellon University Press that I didn't enjoy immensely, and her first two efforts, New World Order by Derek Green, and this one, for AHP, continue that tradition.  Those that enjoy a little darkness with their humor, this one just might be for you.

Big World by Mary Miller (2009, SF/LD Books).  The Short Flite/Long Drive Books division of Hobart comes through with their second mini-book and while I thought they came out of the gate with a well written and interesting book, I think they're hitting the first turn at full stride with this story collection.  Mary Miller has become one of my favorite story writers the past few years, showing the capability of writing both flash fiction and longer, maybe more traditional, stories.  Dogs, troubled women, and less than stellar male accomplices get put through the full gamut here.  All that, plus Hobart has given us a book that fits in our back pocket when we're out and about.

The National Virginity Pledge by Barry Graham (2009, Another Sky Press).  21 stories over 80 pages and all jam packed with grit.  Actually dirt might be a better choice of words.  His characters beg to be watched, no matter how dirty you might feel when you occasionally realize that that's what you're doing, reading faster and faster to watch them.

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (2009, The Penguin Press).  The debut novel by Berry reminded me of many authors from the past - Kafka, Borges, and Auster all come to mind, for example.  There is an absolute playfullness to Berry's writing (character name Travis Sivart - look at it long enough and you'll see what I mean) that is engaging.  This novel is part noir, part David Byrne instrumental music, part Jim Jarmusch film.  What it really is though is a novel that I had a damn hard time putting down, and if I hadn't had many deadlines tha past five days, would have finished it off much quicker. 

I've not finished these next two, but they deserve some quick words too.

All Fall Down by Mary Caponegro (2009, Coffee House Press).  Another story collection, which is nice as I can dip in, read a couple and set it aside for a day or two.  I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to describe Caponegro's stories, but will definitely suggest you look for this in July when it publishes.  With 6 stories over nearly 220 pages, Caponegro writes longer tales than one might typically find, and does so with very precise language.  Her sentences remind me of writers frequently associated with Gordon Lish - every word mattering, and placed just so.  The main difference being the length of her stories - where many other writers with that association (and I do NOT know that she has any association with Lish), very frequently their stories are in the 5 to 12 page length, not of the distance a few of these travel.

Notes from No Man's Land by Eula Biss (2009, Graywolf Press).  The winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, which by the way is quickly becoming a MUST read each and every year, Biss has a very interesting style of essay writing.  She writes of race, and does so from every possible angle.  She has a fantastic ability to begin her essays, seemingly writing about something and then with one quick sentence, the lead-in to a new paragraph, turning the essay on it's head and making what frequently appears to be a chasm-like leap.  However, big as those leaps appear at first, they are not thought out in an ill manner, as Biss progresses from that first sentence leap, the essays usually bring that gap down to a reasonable hop.  She does what a good essayist does - she gives her readers causes to think, to question their beliefs.  She doesn't demand you agree with her every statement.  She offers her thoughts, her views, allows you to question your own, which I don't think is ever a bad thing.

I would highly recommend you searching for each and every title listed above (warning, some of them don't come out until between April and June), buying them, spending some time with them, and then emailing the author and publisher and letting them know just how much you enjoyed them.

Comments

[Andy Roe]

Slacking? Dan Wickett? That's hard to imagine.

Thanks for the write-up. I've been hearing great things about Big World. Definitely want to check it out. The Berry sounds interesting too.