Elias Khoury introduces this novel in a curious fashion, when his narrator confesses that it “may not be of particular interest to readers, as people these days have more important things to do than read stories or listen to tales.” He is forthcoming in admitting that the story bears no satisfying resolution. These initial disclaimers tease the reader into suspecting an undue modesty on the part of the author, perhaps even outright deception—suspicions that inevitably piques one’s interest. Such modesty would be admirable, if it didn’t turn out to be true.
Tottenville Blog
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Santiago Roncagliolo’s ‘Hi, This is Conchita’
16 May 2013
Reviewed by Nicole Casamento
Hi, This is Conchitaoffers an encompassing view of the ways we become detached from intimacy and the painful, misguided ways in which we attempt to retrieve it.
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Interview: Claire Messud
13 May 2013
Interviewed by David Burr Gerrard
Esteemed writer and academic, Claire Messud, discusses her new novel The Woman Upstairs,its controversial reception, and our entangled forms of media.
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Fiona Maazel’s ‘Woke Up Lonely’
3 May 2013
Reviewed by Valerie Stivers
At the center of Maazel’s zany novel is Thurlow Dan, a self-help guru who has recently made an ill-advised trip to North Korea, and who is being spied on by the U.S. Government.
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Interview: Jessica Soffer
19 Apr 2013
Interviewed by Liz Moore
In Jessica Soffer’s debut novel Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots,two women adrift in New York—an Iraqi Jewish widow and the latchkey daughter of a chef—find each other and a new kind of family through their shared love of cooking.
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Nicole Stellon O’Donnell’s ‘Steam Laundry’
3 Apr 2013
Reviewed by Rebecca Kuensting
Nicole Stellon O’Donnell’s debut collection is a novel in poems, resurrecting an old frontier story in creative and bizarre ways.
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Interview: Kristopher Jansma
22 Mar 2013
Interviewed by Ryan Skrabalak
Kristopher Jansma’s much anticipated debut novel, The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards,presents a narrator who always wanted to be a writer. Now, if only he can be reliable, too.
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Interview: Sam Lipsyte
19 Mar 2013
by David Burr Gerrard
‘The Fun Parts’ seems an ironic title for Sam Lipsyte’s astonishing new book, his return to the short story after three acclaimed novels.
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Rick Bass’ ‘In My Home There Is No More Sorrow’
11 Mar 2013
Reviewed by Matthew Mercier
How the students finally arrive at a safe place to produce this work is the drama of Bass’ narrative. And perhaps unlike most classrooms, the teachers are transformed as much as the students.
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Santiago Roncagliolo’s ‘Hi, This is Conchita’
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