By Chauncey Mabe It would be too much to say that Paul Auster’s latest novel constitutes a comeback or even a return to form.His recent work, although sometimes roughed up by critics, has not exactly been inferior, or the product of an imagination grown slack with maturity and success. Yet for all that Auster accomplishes with, say, Man in the Dark (2008), it is a small book. … [Read more...]
Anne Frank, literary genius
The Diary of Anne Frank is arguably one of the most widely read and influential books of the last century. Author Francine Prose has now penned a brilliant analysis, in which she asserts that the diary is a “work of literature” that has not been given its due. “How astonishing,” Prose writes, “that a teenager could have written so intelligently and so movingly about a … [Read more...]
Book review: Anne Frank, literary genius
By Bill WilliamsThe Diary of Anne Frank is arguably one of the most widely read and influential books of the last century.Author Francine Prose has now penned a brilliant analysis, in which she asserts that the diary is a “work of literature” that has not been given its due.“How astonishing,” Prose writes, “that a teenager could have written so intelligently and so movingly … [Read more...]
‘Hell’ a darkly comic riff on the real land down under
The temptation to construct a review of Robert Olen Butler’s novel Hell entirely from quotations and excerpts is almost more than I can resist. And really, why should I resist? In Butler’s propulsively clever yet unsettling vision of the afterlife, I would be unable to avoid eternal damnation no matter what I chose: virtue or vice, piety or sacrilege, ethical rectitude or … [Read more...]
Book review: ‘Hell’ a darkly comic riff on the afterlife
By Chauncey Mabe The temptation to construct a review of Robert Olen Butler’s novel Hell entirely from quotations and excerpts is almost more than I can resist. And really, why should I resist? In Butler’s propulsively clever yet unsettling vision of the afterlife, I would be unable to avoid eternal damnation no matter what I chose: virtue or vice, piety or sacrilege, ethical … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in books
Readers rejoice! The show will go on, sputtering economy notwithstanding. The book show, that is. All five major South Florida literary festivals – Miami Book Fair International, the Key West Literary Seminar, the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, the Boca Festival of the Arts, and Broward’s Lit/Live! – are scheduled to take place over the next five months in more or less their … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in books
Writer Orhan Pamuk.(Illustration by Pat Crowley) Editor's note: This is one in a series of 10 stories previewing the Palm Beach County and regional arts season for 2009-10.By Chauncey MabeReaders rejoice! The show will go on, sputtering economy notwithstanding. The book show, that is.All five major South Florida literary festivals – Miami Book Fair International, the Key West … [Read more...]
ArtsPaper Books: Bringing an ancient American city back to life
By Chauncey Mabe Throughout American history, Indians have been viewed as either bloodthirsty savages, to be exterminated in the name of Manifest Destiny, or, more recently, noble savages who lived in reverence of Mother Earth.Though one of these conceptions is more benign than the other, they are equally products of white condescension and bigotry. Neither leaves room for the … [Read more...]
Bringing an ancient American city back to life
Throughout American history, Indians have been viewed as either bloodthirsty savages, to be exterminated in the name of Manifest Destiny, or, more recently, noble savages who lived in reverence of Mother Earth. Though one of these conceptions is more benign than the other, they are equally products of white condescension and bigotry. Neither leaves room for the possibility … [Read more...]
ArtsPaper Books: Ex-FDA chief lays out map of our flabby discontent
By Bill WilliamsAfter remaining stable for generations, Americans’ body weight suddenly began to spiral upward in recent decades. The average weight for women in their 20s soared from 128 pounds in 1960 to 157 pounds in 2000.Those numbers are included in The End of Overeating, David A. Kessler’s fascinating new book exploring the causes of weight gain along with strategies to … [Read more...]