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09-29-11: A 2011 Phone Interview with Russell Banks


"I don't find plotting all that hard once I have the characters in place."

—Russell Banks

Russell Banks is one of our great fiction writers; he's been a finalist twice for both the Pulitzer and the Pen / Faulkner Prize. But prizes be damned, all you need to do is to pick up his latest novel, 'Memory of Lost Skin' (HarperCollins; September 27, 2011 ; $25.99) to see just how powerful his work is for readers.

He's currently on tour, and he'll be appearing here in Santa Cruz next Tuesday, October 5, at 7:30 PM, at Bookshop Santa Cruz. I managed to catch him in Florida via phone to talk to him about 'Memory of Lost Skin.' The novel was inspired by his news accounts of colony of homeless sex offenders who, because Florida law forbids them to live within half a mile of a school or any other place where children might be found, have created a sort of tent city under a causeway. Banks novel takes of the perspective of a resident of that tent city, and manages quite easily to engage the reader with an amazingly powerful characterization.

There are a lot of fine lines to trip over when you attempt such a work in prose, but to my mind, Banks is astonishingly successful. You can hear a brief discussion with Russell Banks about 'Lost Memory of Skin' by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



09-29-11: Three Books with Alan Cheuse


Joan Slonczewski The Highest Frontier ; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Apricot Jam ; Denis Johnson, Train Dreams

Yes, the date you'll find when you download the linked MP3 audio file of this edition of Three Books with Alan Cheuse is correct ... and you can tell we did the recording while he was still in Santa Cruz, since he's there in person. But the books are as fresh as ever, and indeed, some of the final hard covers have just arrived.

First and foremost in our conversation, and to be honest, for many readers, is Joan Slonczewski's 'The Highest Frontier,' an outstanding novel set in an orbiting college far enough in the future for many of our current chickens to have come home to roost (or be roasted). You can find my review here.

I first read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in high school, and his work was one of those that marked me as a reader, from the sparse power of his fiction in 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' to the literally world-changing non-fiction in 'The Gulag Archipelago.' Given the import of his oeuvre, it's all the more astonishing that it took so long for 'Apricot Jam' (Counterpoint ; August 30, 2011 ; 354 pages ; $28) to arrive, but it is no less welcome. It upholds your expectations every bit as much as does Joan Slonczewski's 'The Highest Frontier.'

And finally, Alan and I gave ourselves a break with Denis Johnson's sparse, spare 'Train Dreams,' one of those wonderful literary cabinets, a beautifully written novella that feels as if it were carved from the English language. There's the natural polish here that feels raw yet shiny and perfect.

Alan and I, as listeners are probably aware, tend to shun shininess and perfection as we discuss and dissect the books we read. We're more like literary archaeologists or vivisectionists, trying to peer at the heart of books yet leave them alive for the reader. You can hear our conversation by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



09-28-11: A 2011 Interview with Meg Wolitzer


"I really think you need to respect the antsyness of kids.""

—Meg Wolitzer

Sometimes a book review and interview just sort of fall into your lap. Here's how this works. I'm browsing BoingBoing, wherein I find the mention of a successful "sex strike," that is, (from BB) " Women in Mindanao, Philippines ended a violent, armed, intervillage fight by going on a "sex-strike" until their husbands stopped killing each other, as confirmed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees." Of course, I am reminded of Meg Wolitzer's 'The Uncoupling.' On a lark, I email her the link.

And yes, I am surprised when she responds, telling me that she's has some non-fiction in the hopper, and that this article will help. But wait, of course, there's more. It turns out that while she was writing 'The Uncoupling,' she was also writing a book which is easily tagged YA, but is really for pre-YA as well. She'll be in San Francisco soon enough, and as it happens on the same day when I'll be in town to talk to Neal Stephenson. When I suggested we talk about her book, she agreed — and I was off and running.

I have to admit I was rather floored by the fact that she wrote one book in the morning and the other in the afternoon, and could have published them both at the same time. There are some great lessons in this conversation with regards to going back and forth from adult-oriented novels like 'The Uncoupling' to well, I can't really call it milder fare, since 'The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman' looks at the rather harsh results of a bad economy, but at least, a book without women on a sex strike. The latter is a concept that many adults might find discomfiting.

But once we plunged in, there was no stopping us, well, nothing other than the fact that my TV-parking place was going to expire after a mere hour, and the fact that Wolitzer had a gig at McSweeney's and a meeting with Vendela Vida. I managed to get us back to my precariously-parked-on-a-San-Francisco-hill car and get Meg to her meeting, and to record a very entertaining conversation about her latest novel, which you can hear by following this link to the MP3 audio file.




09-27-11 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 11: Lev Grossman, 'The Magician King'


Here's the eleventh episode of my new series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The eleventh episode is a look at the work of Lev Grossman and his latest novel, 'The Magician King.'

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Episode 11: Time to Read: Lev Grossman, 'The Magician King.'




09-26-11: A 2011 Interview with Neal Stephenson, Plus Live Reading and Q & A

Click image for audio link.

"Here you're asking me to engage into more self-examination than is my wont..."

—Neal Stephenson

I know it was a long day for Neal Stephenson; he'd just started his tour for 'REAMDE' and had flown down from Seattle that morning to end up in the studio at KQED at noon. It's a big book, and I imagine that they have big plans for his tour. I just hope that they don't drive him to exhaustion. I've heard a lot of authors talk about book tours, generally in terms of being one plane-ride after another. Stephenson's tour is like something one of his characters in 'REAMDE' might experience — sans gunfire.

Not that Stephenson doesn't have any guns. I asked him — he does. But they're only of minor interest. These days, he's much more interested in plot, and 'REAMDE' is ample evidence of how his interest pays off big-time for readers. Given that Stephenson was probably operating on half his normal sleep, he was really amazingly genial and fun to talk to. I really enjoyed our interview, but tried to keep on-topic and tried myself to avoid temptation to spend the time talking about his back-catalogue. But even he was impressed by the hardcover first of 'Snow Crash' I'd picked up at Capitola Book Café some 20 years ago.

Even more amazing then, was his performance at 7:30 PM, when he read, then answered questions from the audience (whom he thought to be particularly well-informed). Today's podcast consists of two files.

You can follow this link to the MP3 audio file of my in-studio conversation with Neal Stephenson.

You can follow this link to the MP3 audio file of the live reading and audience Q & A, hosted by Booksmith, at the Swedish American Music Hall in San Francisco, California.



New to the Agony Column

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Erik Larson : "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

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