Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: 10% off all europa editions, elegance of the hedgehog, europa editions, great books at unabridged, muriel barbery, unabridged book of the month
New book of the month! It’s so big it two needed extra days!
By now I am sure you’ve heard a friend, or a friend of a friend who’s read The Elegance of the Hedgehog and loved it, but now you have Ed who highly recommends this wonderful book.
This is what he had to say:
“I loved the Elegance of the Hedgehog – maybe my favorite novel of the year. In this double narrative, there is more to Renee – elderly, frumpy widowed concierge at an exclusive Paris apartment building – than meets the eye! And Palo Ma – 12 years old, philosophical, precocious – decides (in pretty typical french, existential fashion) that she’s going to kill herself on her 13th birthday.
The novel is tender and satirical, its characters inspiring the affection and enthusiasm readers similarly have for those of Alexander McCall Smith. Plot developments range from heartbreaking to the comic (at one point, Renee ponders whether her cat exists, or just her perception that exists!) The novel challenges stereotypes and class divisions all the while exploring the nature of beauty and the meaning of life.
Hooray for Elegance of the Hedgehog!“
Like all of our Europa Editions (an amazing Publisher who is doing great things for English Literature) at Unabridged Bookstore, it is 10% off the cover price.
ALSO! Here is some further reading about the author, Muriel Barbery.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: abdellah taia, evan fallenberg, gay books everyone should read, gay pride 2009, gay titles, joel derfner, light fell, salvation army, swish
In honor, or Honour as the Brits say, of Gay Pride 2009 and the 40th anniversary of Stonewall here are some delightful newish gay titles that you should be reading. Maybe not this weekend because who has time for reading a book when there are so many other things going on but soon afterward. After the headache goes away.
Here are three that you should keep in mind … among others.
SWISH: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever by Joel Derfner
Robert had this to say: “Dang, I thought I was pretty darn gay: show tunes, no interest in sports, oh, and a sexual interest in men, but Derfner clearly has me out-ranked, and these hilarious, compulsively-readable essays place him immediately on the shellf with the best of Sedaris, Burroughs, Dan Savage, and their fab ilk.”
SALVATION ARMY by Abdellah Taia
Ed highly recommends: “Salvation Army is a short, but compelling, autobiographical novel by Moroccan Abdellah Taia, told very powerfully and effectively in the first person. Sensually and sexually evocative vignettes depict an uncertain journey of sexual and cultural self-discovery embodying the complex hopes and fears of a gay Moroccan ex-patriot. “
LIGHT FELL by Evan Fallenberg
Ed loved: “Light Fell takes place at the dangerous intersection of homosexuality and orthodox religion – an Israeli man leaves his family for another man (a rabbi, no less!) and now, 20 years later, is about to reunite with his five grown sons on his 50th birthday. Author Fallenberg does a good job humanizing what I found to be an unlikable main character (and his equally unlikable children) while exploring the family dynamics of “gay”, as well as the many taboos and hypocrises demanded by organized religion, and the consequent self-loathing and narrow-mindedness it engenders.”
Filed under: books, bookstore news, reviews | Tags: featured book of the month, unabridged book of the month, dear american airlines, jonathan miles
I know. I know. I mentioned the book before, BUT, it is now our Unabridged Featured Book of the Month Not to be Missed at All Cost Because What Else do You Have to Do other than Read a Book About A Complaint Letter to American Airlines. AKA: UFBMNMACBWEYHDRBACLAA
Don’t miss Dear American Airlines! 10% off! Here’s what Robert had to say …
“This is the longest, most prone to digression letter of complaint you’ll ever read. And also the funniest, and most surprisingly poignant. Bennie Ford, a boozy failed poet is in a spot familiar to many of us: stuck at O’Hare, fuming, and his missive to the airline becomes a confession, a diversion, a story of a life. Read it! Robert recommends!”
Mostly new in paperback, $13.95 and 10% off; Mariner Books.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: henry david thoreau, robert sullivan, the thoreau you don't know, thoreau, washington post, woodsburner
Thoreau died on this day in 1862. While the 147th anniversary of someone’s death is not really one to be celebrated there are currently two, TWO, great books about the myth and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau.
The novel, Woodsburner (reviewed here in The Washington Post), circles on the day that Thoreau burned down a forest (yup, a whole forest. 300 acres) on the Concord river in Massachusetts. While Theoreau is an integral componet (striking the match, etc. etc.) the story shines brightest (get it, fire pun) when the supporting characters take over. Thoreau shrinks to the background and only pops up again at the end.
The Thoreau You Don’t Know by Robert Sullivan was also recently released and Robert had this to say:
“I didn’t know Thoreau very well before I read Sullivan’s engaging work. But this excellent introductionm to the man and his legacy cognently argues that Thoreau was gregarious, community-minded, a man who engaged in society rather than removing himself from it. “heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads,” said Thoreau. Robert says: Read this, and then read Walden. Michael Pollan fans will like this.”
Sullivan does talk about Thoreau burning down the forest if you want a historical telling. I’d insert another fire/match/burning pun but I think Ron Charles of the Washington Post goes above and beyond.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: cormac mccarthy, denis johnson, new denis johnson, nobody move, novella, stories of violence
Like Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson has become adept and depicting what it means to be a decision maker in our violence obsessed world. While Cormac excels at showing that we (Americans) have always been mired in destruction Johnson has shown a more subtle approach to the effects of violence on our psyche and our culture.
Do not be fooled: this is a violent book – an homage to the crimes novels of the 50s and 60s. This novel does not approach the over the top brutality of Cormac McCarthy but it demonstrates that once you (in this case the main character: a gambling addicted, barbershop choir singer named Jimmy Luntz) accept violence as an alternative there is no going back.
Even those that escape are not free.
If you read and like this novella continue on and read Tree of Smoke for a far more in-depth look at violence and the chilly fingers that ripple through a system.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: brian francis slattery, sci-fi, spaceman blues
Just finished reading Spaceman Blues by Brian Francis Slattery and let me tell you … bloody brilliant.
Think: Philip K. Dick channeled through Junot Diaz. Think: Pynchon writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide. The prose is fast and lucid and will keep you hooked until the last page.
The story revolves around Wendell Apogee and his chaotic quest to find his lover (subtly revealed) Manuel Gonzalez. Wendell drags himself through the underworld of New York as prophesies of doom (from the aptly named Church of Panic) start to come true when the Four Horsemen arrive. It’s a race against a winding down clock to find Manuel and stop the Horsemen from killing Wendell.
This unassuming sci-fi book never disappoints and is highly recommended by Stefan.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: andrew sean greer, april book of the month, confessions of max tivoli, discounted books, ed recommends, featured book of the month, the story of marriage
Our featured April book of the month is The Story of Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer. Ed had this to say:
It is San Francisco 1953, and narrator Pearlie relates the circumstances of her marriage to childhood sweetheart Holland Cook. But a strange appears at her door one day, and the plot is propelled through a series of twisting revelations and agonizing decisions by all three characters. Greer gives a beautiful portrait of the racial, sexual and social issues of the early 1950’s with its climate of fear and repression.
Greer’s crystalline prose makes this novel soar! Ed Highly recommends.
Greer is also the author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli. Come check it out. New in paperback from Picador and 10% off.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: need to own books, pride and prejudice, pride and prejudice and zombies, seth grahame-smith, zombies
We have it! We have the book. In my hands, right now, is the cream of the crop. The top-dog. The bee’s knees. The cat’s pajamas! Whew!
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Oh, do not doubt the power of this book. It will change your life one zombie infestation in polite 19th century English society at a time. Here are some choice quotes:
“A few of the guests, who had the misfortune of being too near the windows, were seized and feasted on at once.”
“The creatures were crawling on their hands and knees, biting into ripe heads of cauliflower, which they mistaken for stray brains.”
This is more than a daft reference. This is the actual text of P&P sandwiched between a zombie horde. Do the Bennets have what it takes to survive genteal British society; for Elizabeth to fall in love with Mr. Darcy; for England to ever be the same again?!
Yeah, you need this book. Many worlds of thanks to Seth Grahame-Smith. A+
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: a wolf at the table, augusten burroughs, sale book
Gather ’round gather ’round, do I have a deal for you. Look at these pristine, smart-looking copies of A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs. Now how much would pay for the hardcover of this little gem? $50? Ha! $45? No way! $24 .95? No chance!
How about $8.99!!
Our dear colleague, Robert, had this to say:
This is not the sometimes glib, chuckle-a-minute book we are used to from Mr. Burroughs (and I say this as someone who loves and admires his work). Wolf is more stark, harsher, written with a fevered intensity and immediacy that propels the book with the strength and speed of a bullet train. Burroughs was already a wonderful writer, with this tale of a boy longing for his father’s love, he becomes an artist. Robert highly recommends this memoir.
There you go.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: harper collins, jonathan littell, nytimes, publishers hurting themselves, the daily beast, the kindly ones
We are going to reserve judgement on The Kindly Ones because, like most 1,000 page novels, we haven’t read it. But here is a rundown of some of the reception so far:
Kakutani: Go Here.
Korda: Go Here
And a good run down from the NYTimes about the general reception so far: Go Here.
The best quote from the NYTimes comes from Gerry Donaghy, a Powell’s Books buyer in Portland,
“It sounds like something where the curiosity factor might be really high,” Mr. Donaghy said. “But on the other hand, it’s: ‘Do I have the time and emotional resources to invest in a 1,000-page book on the Holocaust that sounds like a transcription of Pasolini’s ‘120 Days of Sodom’?” he added, referring to the divisive Italian film based on a novel by the Marquis de Sade.
Of course the large point made in all of this was … WHY DID THEY PAY JONATHAN LITTLELL SO MUCH?! Your moment of zen:
“Harper has planned an initial print run of 50,000 copies. Just to cover the cost of the advance, the publisher — which will receive about half the $29.99 cover price of each hardcover copy sold — will have to sell about 75,000 copies in hardcover. To cover marketing, printing and other overhead costs, it would have to sell even more, although the equation could change, depending on how many paperback copies the book sells.”
