The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

I read this ages ago, and decided to read it again to examine more closely how it is written. This edition has a postscript by the author explaining many things about the writing of the novel.

Interesting that he describes the first hundred pages as a penance or initiation for reading the novel. I found myself skimming much of the historical facts about the sects and heretics. Is all that detail really necessary? Isn't it enough to know the facts without so much detail? I would certainly cut a lot.

And it seems that the author added the extra levels of narrator (a modern translator at least twice removed from the young novice narrator) as a salve to his own ego. Odd.

But at it's core, there is the traditional detective novel, much like a story of Sherlock Holmes narrated by Doctor Watson. William of Baskerville is the "detective" and everything is narrated by the novice Adso.

Much of the extra material valued so highly by Eco was, of course, removed for the movie.

Link to Amazon: The Name of the Rose: including the Author's Postscript

The Life of Emily Dickinson by Richard Sewall

Impressive and deeply detailed, this biography approaches Emily Dickinson's life on a slant, much as she presented her own life to her friends and family in her letters. Most o the biography centers on Dickinson's friends and family and the letters and poems that she wrote them.

It will shatter your belief in the many myths of Dickinson's life. Much is still open to debate, but after reading this biography I believe that Dikinson was not a recluse because she lost a lover or was subjugated by her father. It was what we would call today a lifestyle choice, brought on by her decision to be a poet and the lack of any life-changing occurrence when she was of marrying age.

Link to Amazon: The Life of Emily Dickinson

Publishers Weekly Review of Life Portraits

I received my Publishers Weekly review of my Amazan Breakthrough Novel Award entry, Life Portraits. I couldn't be more pleased with it. Obviously I got their best reviewer. Whoever it is does a better job at summing up my novel than I do:

From Publishers Weekly

When a woman inherits a series of nude photographs of an unknown man, it triggers a search for the truth behind her dead mother’s mysterious history in this superb novel. Shifting back and forth between the present and the past, with portraits both metaphorical and literal, the parallels between the lives and personalities of young mother Sally Swain and her own newly-deceased mother, photographer Eva, come into detailed focus. Sally’s search draws her into a quest for her unknown father’s identity as Eva’s tale moves from the 1950s to the 1970s amid the drama of the Civil Rights movement and explores her relationships with two very different men: doctor and budding politician Paul James, and confused, often-depressed artist Isaac Rutherford. The suspense is maintained masterfully throughout, and Sally’s slow maturation as she learns the lessons of the past is handled gently and effectively. Paul, Isaac and their family members are richly portrayed with a complex and realistic balance of virtues and flaws as Sally slowly unravels Eva’s secrets and resolves her own personal challenges in the deeply satisfying conclusion.

Pardon me for excerpting the high points:

"... superb novel."

"... suspense is maintained masterfully ..."

"... handled gently and effectively."

"... richly portrayed ..."

"... complex and realistic ..."

"... deeply satisfying conclusion."

You can read my entry. Comments are welcome.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award - semifinalist!

Hooray for me! I made it the semifinals of the 2009 ABNA contest. That means I survived the initial cut from 10,000 to 2,000, then to 500, and now to 100. So I'm in the top 1% of this contest. I'll take any small victory in the seemingly endless struggle to get published.

You can read and review my excerpt. Please. I gladly accept all feedback, good or bad.

The next hurdle is the elimination to only three finalists. There are some excellent entries, so I'm not exactly optimistic about my chances. I should know by May 15th.

I will also be receiving a review of my entire novel from Publishers Weekly.

Agents - unnecessary intermediaries?

An interesting blog post by Mary Walters on her Militant Writer blog.

She's not fond of literary agents, the gatekeepers between writers and publishers.

Here's the comment I left on her blog:

Speaking from an economics viewpoint, agents are intermediaries in a supply chain. The traditional supply chain is supplier-manufacturer-wholesaler-retailer-buyer.

As I see it, the writer is the supplier, the publisher and the writer working together are the manufacturer. The publisher is the wholesaler, bookstores are the retailers, and readers are the buyers. Intermediaries (agents) are not really necessary in the supply chain. History is full of examples of intermediaries (middlemen) that have been eliminated. You might say that is the natural evolution of the supply chain - to eliminate middlemen.

Recent history is also full of examples of other steps in the supply chain being eliminated or consolidated. Direct marketing via the internet is one example, with Amazon attempting to bypass bookstores.

No one should be surprised if the publishing industry undergoes some radical change as well. What that change will be I cannot guess - I wish I could. There are plenty of ongoing experiments - most of which are designed to eliminate intermediaries such as agents, or even publishers and bookstores. Only time will tell which experiments will succeed and which will fail.

The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman

An excellent book, a literary mystery. It has all the qualities of literary fiction as well as a murder mystery. Goodman continues some of her favorite themes here - death by drowning and influence of classical literature.

Link to Amazon: The Drowning Tree: A Novel

Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson

What an odd book. It breaks one of the rules that is always dictated to beginning writers - no odd turns of plot that later turn out to be a dream. In this case there are three odd turns of plot that all happened while the narrator was in a coma, which the reader know nothing about until later.

And yet it all works somehow. Let me be honest - I love the writing style of Kate Atkinson. She could write a grocery list and I would read it. Her style really resonates with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed this queer book, strange plot twists and all.

Link to Amazon: Human Croquet