AltWeeklies Wire
The Old Man and the Secretarynew
Valerie Danby-Smith lived with Hemingway in Cuba; she wrote out his correspondence; she typed out the chapters to A Moveable Feast; she stayed up late with him, trying to ease his insomnia; she was a receptive student to his natural and eager teaching.
Missoula Independent |
Azita Osanloo |
11-18-2004 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Wild Riffing Style Leads to Modestly Noble Visionnew
Inman Majors' crazy Southern comedy, Wonderdog, finds the former alter-Opie child star in a world of bad actors: clumsy political players, competitive romantic ritualists and caricatures of masculinity. And the hell of it is that they all seem to be more comfortable in their skins than he is.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Thomas Bell |
11-18-2004 |
Fiction
Tags: Inman Majors, Wonderdog
Life of the Man Who Wrote the Lifenew
Really. In a book about Goines, Goines is barely there. The biographer is there though, as are pages upon pages of irrelevant instruction. Just because Allen can't get a bead on his subject doesn't make his subject bad, just badass.
New York Press |
John Hood |
11-17-2004 |
Nonfiction
Hard Timesnew
Seth Mnookin reflects on his journey from junkie to Newsweek media expert to profiler of the scandals at the New York Times.
Boston Phoenix |
Tamara Wieder |
11-16-2004 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Hard News, Seth Mnookin
Chaos Theorynew
So many eccentric characters and event-filled asides make this short novel seem crowded and the air inside a little stuffy. The protagonist's fate isn’t something you’re apt to care about, and the last-minute attempt at poignancy hardly registers more than a "how ironic."
Boston Phoenix |
Richard C. Walls |
11-16-2004 |
Fiction
Tags: Peter Stephen Jungk, Tigor
The Eternal Return of Fictionnew
Canadian-born and Poland-based writer Soren Gauger evidently wants Time to be the sole character and narrator of his first full-length collection of short fiction.
New York Press |
Joshua Cohen |
11-11-2004 |
Fiction
Band Appeals to Bobos From the Coastsnew
A new coffee-table book sheds light on the question of whether Wilco, with its success, has evolved into a better band.
New York Press |
Lionel Beehner |
11-11-2004 |
Nonfiction
Street Art Shapes Public Spacenew
In contrast to traditional art, Josh MacPhee asserts, stencils are the great equalizer: With the help of basic, affordable materials, the same work of art can reappear throughout a city, cities or countries, meeting with a broad audience and reception.
New York Press |
Kate Crane |
11-11-2004 |
Nonfiction
Author Has Constructed an Entire Teleology of Turdsnew
Obenzinger has constructed an entire teleology of turds, a sacred scatology of sphincters complete with neo-cannibal rites and the saintly ablutions of Our Lady of Shit, who cleanses the public toilets of the world.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Thomas Bell |
11-11-2004 |
Fiction
Tags: A*hole, Hilton Obenzinger
An Epitaph for Architecturenew
"Content," an inventory of work by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, professes at every turn the difficulty of creating architecture in an increasingly complex and pluralistic world.
Jackson Free Press |
Randy Perkins |
11-10-2004 |
Nonfiction
Tags: Content, Rem Koolhaas
The First George W.new
This book convinces readers that without George Washington, we might all still be British subjects. If ever there was an example of how one man can shape the world, the first George W. is it.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
11-08-2004 |
Nonfiction
Just the Flunew
John M. Barry's exhaustive history of the the 1918 influenza epidemic provides a very timely context.
Sacramento News & Review |
Kel Munger |
11-05-2004 |
Nonfiction
Come to Look for Americanew
Although Oh, Play That Thing flows along nicely, it lacks the urgency of its predecessor and at times comes close to unraveling.
Boston Phoenix |
Clea Simon |
11-05-2004 |
Fiction
Westward, Oh...new
The tension in Mark Spragg's latest novel, slated for a forthcoming Robert Redford film, is between Spragg's wonderful prose and predictable story.
Missoula Independent |
Azita Osanloo |
11-04-2004 |
Fiction
An Unleashed Voicenew
The slam scene unleashed Patricia Smith's voice as a poet. And it cushioned her later, after she was accused of fabricating some of her columns in The Boston Globe.
Tucson Weekly |
Joan Schuman |
11-04-2004 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Close to Death, Patricia Smith
