Only months into his first term as president, Ronald Reagan barely survived an assassination attempt as he was leaving a hotel in Washington, D.C. The would-be assassin, John Hinckley, fired six “devastator” bullets designed to explode and spew hot shrapnel on impact. The first bullet hit Press Secretary James Brady in the head, crippling him for life. Other bullets wounded a … [Read more...]
‘Just Mercy’ chilling look at American injustice system
Just Mercy is timely in view of two recent cases in which grand juries declined to indict white policemen involved in the deaths of black suspects in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City. Bryan Stevenson has written a chilling book about miscarriages of justice in the criminal justice system, particularly when blacks are prosecuted. Descended from slaves, Stevenson grew up in a … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: South Florida hard to beat for book festivals
South Florida, believe it or not, has now been a leading literary region for nearly 30 years. Yes, publishing remains centered in New York, and Los Angeles may have its charms for authors and their fans. But we boast four of the best book festivals in the nation, beginning with the biggest, Miami Book Fair International in November, and ending with perhaps the most original, … [Read more...]
In new edition of ‘Farewell,’ a look at Hemingway’s creative process
Ernest Hemingway’s reputation as a master of 20th century American literature is based in part on A Farewell to Arms, his searing story of war and love, first published in 1929. This new edition of the esteemed novel adds 40 pages of jottings and drafts, including dozens of alternative endings, which show how much Hemingway struggled to get it right. Although the book is … [Read more...]
Chris Bohjalian, novelist of empathy
Empathy pays. In a confessional age, when the memoir has replaced the novel as the primary literary form, Chris Bohjalian is a bit of an anachronism. In one bestselling novel after another, he wields that always rare literary gift, the ability to create believable characters far removed from his own background and experience. Black children, transsexuals, homeless people, … [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...]
Ex-FDA chief lays out map of our flabby discontent
After 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 take off … [Read more...]
Ali shows deft plotting hand in ‘Kitchen,’ but overwrites like the Dickens
One of the knocks on modern literary fiction is that it seldom shows people at work, where, after all, most of us spend the preponderance of our time. And yet, as Monica Ali inadvertently demonstrates with In the Kitchen, it is possible to go too far in the opposite direction. Showing the tedium of a working life is one thing. Making it tedious for the reader is quite … [Read more...]
‘Angel’s Game’ a fresh, spellbinding take on genre novel
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international bestseller The Shadow of the Wind, poses an affront to those serious readers who believe they know what makes for literary quality. What to do with a novelist, clearly motivated by a popular rather than artistic impulse, who nonetheless writes with wit, skill and creative energy? Zafon’s new novel, The Angel’s Game, is the … [Read more...]