Sabbath's Theater, by Philip Roth at EIL

I wanted to leave the Dana King promotion up till it had run its course, but just a quick note to say that my review of Sabbath's Theater is up at Escape Into Life. In the early days, I didn't think I'd much care for Roth, so never read him, but was later won over by American Pastoral. A friend in my book group persuaded us to read Sabbath's Theater, saying that five years ago she thought she would have been offended by it, but now found it very funny. And I think this is a book that may catch you at the right moment in life or the wrong one. In the end, I was glad I'd read it, but even ten pages before the end I had to put it down for a bit, groaning too much Philip, too much!


If you are in the mood for an outsize character who is part Fyodor Karamazov (the outrageous father), the Marquis de Sade (at least as played by Geoffrey Rush in the movie) and part Casanova (as played by Donald Sutherland, not Heath Ledger), then this is the time to read it. But I will warn you that Mickey Sabbath is someone you will have to grapple with. 

Get 'em while they're hot--Dana King offers his books free for a limited time.

I am a little slow on the uptake sometimes. It took not one but two of my fellow bloggers to put up news of this to make me realize that,gee, I could do the same thing. Anyway, crime novelist Dana King is offering his four books free on Kindle from June 25-June 29. That means starting tomorrow in my time zone. I already have three of the four in one form or another, but I will definitely snap up the fourth in the next couple of days. Not that you need help with your selections because you can just grab them all up, but I have written a couple of reviews that you can find by going HERE , or you can get a brief description of each HERE on Paul D. Brazill's blog.

As we've been discussing over on Detectives Beyond Borders, where Peter Rozovsky first clued me in to the offer, writers make these generous offers to pick up a few more fans who then presumably will get the word out to others. So pick up a couple and spread the word in whatever way you typically do that. I'd link you to the Amazon page, but they won't be on sale till tomorrow.

Read outside the box

I came across an interesting piece in the Guardian yesterday about a prize I hadn't heard of before. It's called the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize and it was developed to promote deserving and what you might call underrepresented British fiction. The author of the article is Matt Haig, who was also one of the judges (and, I might parenthetically add, the author of The Dead Father's Club, a modern take on Hamlet which I read enjoyed and rather summarily reviewed here a few years back). Haig articulates something about the current state of the book world which I increasingly felt during my sojourn in the book biz, but which I wouldn't have been able to state so well.

"Also, I don't think it is too controversial to point out that the market is increasingly being shaped by sales and marketing people, rather than editors and others who actually know what a good book is. So if a book does well, during the next two years you'll see many echoes of that book on the shelves. The once kaleidoscopic book world risks becoming 50 shades of safe. If you are writing a book that doesn't fit into the categories of mass-market thriller or book-club friendly WI-lit, then it is going to struggle to find a publisher. If it does so, then it will struggle to find a publisher that can justify spending the marketing money needed to make an impact."

One of the cool perks these winners get is having their portrait done in tintype by photographer Tif Hunter. You can see them HERE.

To see a bit about the books themselves, go HERE.

Life and Fate, by Vasily Grossman--at Escape Into Life

Once again I must use this blog simply to steer you to my post at Escape Into Life to read my review of this great novel surrounding the events at the Battle of Stalingrad. I hesitate to call it a review--it is more an enjoinder to tackle this long work. We should not cower before a tome, as one of my friends put it in our recent discussion of The Way We Live Now.


One of the subjects Life and Fate tackles is how to keep our integrity and human freedom in the face of totalitarianism. It is interesting that in daily life, we evade, prevaricate and obscure the truth when we really have very little to lose. How hard was it, then, for those who faced prison and even death in these circumstances? If nothing else, we can all be just a little bit braver, since most of us do have that luxury.

The Way We Live Now, at EIL

The long haul is over and I have not only finished what some call Trollope's masterpiece but have discussed it with friends and reviewed it. You can find the review at Escape Into Life. I am now very curious to watch the Masterpiece Theatre production of the story, not least because it is bound to fill in some of the details Trollope didn't bother himself over, such as what they wore, what they ate, what the scenery is like. Just the sort of thing that Masterpiece Theatre is good at.

One interesting surprise is that far from putting me off long bulky books, reading it has somehow given me a renewed appetite for them. I immediately plunged into Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

 At this rate, I may finally get around to reading A Suitable Boy.

Holly West on "Nine Book Experiences You Should Have Before You Die" at Do Some Damage, and a few of my own

I came across this POST by Holly West over on Do Some Damage a couple of days ago and thought it might be a good one to link to in the absence of a review here. But I've been too busy to even do that, until now. I liked her list a lot, and should probably add to the list in her comment field, but I'll just do it here.


Book reading experiences I think you should have before you die:


Slog through a book to the bitter end before you decide whether you love it or hate it. (Don Quixote, I'm looking at you. By the way, the progression was: hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate...wait a minute...love.)

(That's Picasso, folks. Because it takes a Spaniard to know a Spaniard)

Read a book in the wee hours of the morning when you're really supposed to be doing something else--like studying for a final. My aunt sent me a copy of Pride and Prejudice at a really inopportune moment in my academic career, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

My professor Mary Holmes said that the reason library stacks should be open and not closed is that it's never the book you're looking for that grabs you, it's the other one.


Always give at least a look at books that seem to come to you in an extremely random way. I was delighted to have read John Krich's Music in Every Room: Around the World in a Bad Mood when I was in Southeast Asia, for instance. Someone had left it on a table. Apparently just for me.

And if a book literally jumps off the shelf at you, stop what you're doing and TAKE A LOOK. Even if you just open to a random page.


Somewhat contrary to my first piece of advice, every once in awhile, give yourself permission to just stop reading something. If it's really worth it, it will probably come back round your way again.

Read a book in the company of friends. I know some people look down a little on book groups for a variety of reasons. (Personally, I think one of the reasons is misogyny, as for various reasons it seems to be more of feminine activity than a masculine one.) And sometimes I get tired myself of reading what other people want me to read. But reading and discussing together is a great bonding experience, and even if half the time you're talking about your kids or pets, there's always at least some time you're talking about the work of literature itself. And putting your minds together to talk about a creative work is a wonderful way to get to know other people and how they think.


Trust me.

You saw the movie--now read the book. Walkabout, by James Vance Marshall at Escape Into Life

I forgot to put up a link to the post I did about the short novel Walkabout for Escape Into Life. I saw the Nicholas Roeg movie quite a long time ago. The book is quite different in tone from the film, at least from what I remember. I think perhaps the best part is the evocation of the Australian Outback. But check it out yourself.