This is a lyrical explosion of a book, a challenge to literature, and particularly to narrative non-fiction, as we know it.
Our books no longer reflect the way we understand our lives, Shields argues. They are not fractured enough, not various and stolen, too hemmed in. We are all of us increasingly hungry for the "real", and have created monuments of commodified irreality in a desperate attempt to find it.
This book is indeed a manifesto in the best sense, a call to action for readers and writers. Shields is demanding reader interaction, greater risk, more serendipity and - as difficult, possibly, to acheive as it is easy to say - more reality in our use of the written word. It's a stirring book full of more questions than answers, and one I'm very excited to have as the topic of a conversation here at the store..
News of Note
Staff Picks
The American Painter Emma Dial
Written by Adjua
By Samantha Peale (W. W. Norton, $24.95)
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, and at first it seemed like light, well-written, forgettable fare. But, all of a sudden, I was in up to my neck in our protagonist's dilemma, rooting for her sorely needed extrication as if it were my own. Then I burst into tears reading the last words and realized it was. Magical stuff this fiction thing.
American Primitive
Written by Gabi
By Mary Oliver (Back Bay Books, $13.99)
Mary Oliver talks about nature as a living thing, as a body, with movements and emotions. Nature is an animal. Simple, yet profound, American Primitive showcases why Mary Oliver is one of the more popular poets around today. In a time of disconnection from nature, Mary Oliver goes back to what our society has discarded, making it new and magical again.
Augustus
Written by David
By John Williams (Vintage, $14.95)
I can hardly believe it, but it turns out that I love historical fiction. At least when it's as well written and engrossing as John Williams' Augustus. I actually don't think there was a time when I wasn't reading it that I didn't wish that I was. As good, if not better than, Robert Graves' I, Claudius.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, and at first it seemed like light, well-written, forgettable fare. But, all of a sudden, I was in up to my neck in our protagonist's dilemma, rooting for her sorely needed extrication as if it were my own. Then I burst into tears reading the last words and realized it was. Magical stuff this fiction thing.
Mary Oliver talks about nature as a living thing, as a body, with movements and emotions. Nature is an animal. Simple, yet profound, American Primitive showcases why Mary Oliver is one of the more popular poets around today. In a time of disconnection from nature, Mary Oliver goes back to what our society has discarded, making it new and magical again.
I can hardly believe it, but it turns out that I love historical fiction. At least when it's as well written and engrossing as John Williams' Augustus. I actually don't think there was a time when I wasn't reading it that I didn't wish that I was. As good, if not better than, Robert Graves' I, Claudius.