Month: June 2013

June 14, 2013

Theater: “Stupid Fucking Bird” by Aaron Posner

I seem to have developed a renewed interest in the theater. Years ago, in graduate school, I read a lot of drama, although I…
June 12, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “Scenes of the Crime” by Cormac McCarthy

“Scenes of the Crime” by Cormac McCarthy Excerpted and adapted from the screenplay for “The Counselor,” a Ridley Scott film coming out later this…
June 11, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “Happy Trails” by Sherman Alexie

“Happy Trails” by Sherman Alexie This might be my favorite piece in the issue. The story begins: “Forty-one years ago, my uncle Hector said…
June 10, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “Brotherly Love” by Jhumpa Lahiri

“Brotherly Love” by Jhumpa Lahiri We learn from the Q&A with Jhumpa Lahiri that “Brotherly Love” is an excerpt from Lahiri’s new novel, forthcoming…
June 10, 2013

Holding Forth: Story Cycles and Novels in Stories

I recently had business in North Carolina and was invited to participate in a gathering at the home of Marjorie Hudson, author of the…
June 10, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “Slide to Unlock” by Ed Park

“Slide to Unlock” by Ed Park Clever. We don’t know why until the end of the story, but the narrator (in second person) is…
June 9, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “Rough Deeds” by Annie Proulx

“Rough Deeds” by Annie Proulx In New France (Canada) in the mid 18th Century, Duquet does business with an Englishman to expand his trade….
June 8, 2013

The New Yorker Summer Fiction Issue: “An Inch and a Half of Glory” by Dashiell Hammett

June 10 & 17, 2013, Summer Fiction Issue: “An Inch and a Half of Glory” by Dashiell Hammett The theme of the Summer Fiction…
June 5, 2013

2013 Reading: The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

The Forty Rules of Love: A Novel of Rumi by Elif Shafak I read this for one of the book clubs I participate in, and…
June 3, 2013

Audio of a Live Interview with Me

One of the oddest things about publishing and promoting a book is giving interviews. I’ve given several over the course of the last four…