Kevin, thanks for the review. It was very informative and interesting. Didn't know much about the 'brat pack' writers. I was too busy reading all the greats, the old guys, Hemmingway, I never read BLBC when it came out. I was writing my own book at the time and was, maybe, likely, a little jealous of al the attention the writer was getting. I've been reading the old guys, Mailer, Bellow, Theroux... (I'm currently reading W&P, 600 pages in and hoping I can get through it as my TBR pile is growing.)
I stumbled on Canin a couple years ago and really liked Emperor of the Air. Read something by Carver, can't recall which. I liked Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I also love the war writers and their work from the 60s and 70s, Vonneget and Heller.
I have a set of Fitzgerald books. Never liked Gatsby, actually, never 'got it,' whatever it was. (Thanks for your analysis of same. It's on my shelf but I doubt I'll re-read it.) Same with Catcher in the Rye, which I read in HS. I loved McCarthy's Border Trilogy. I don't want to read The Road, seems too grim.
I loved The Bonfires of the Vanities, and A Man in Full by Wolfe. Never read Douglas Kennedy. Loved Updike's Rabbit series.
Speaking of 'The canon of Serious American Literature,' does such a thing exist anymore? Seems like whatever was in there might now be in the trash bins in the alleys behind the workhouses of Big Publishing.
I see you're in Sac. I'm across the border in the Reno area. (Has California Forest Fire Setting Season started yet? I haven't see any smoke yet.)
I'll let you go now.
PS. My most recent (unpublished) book, The Fake Memoir of a Mid-List Writer, has been both long-listed and short listed, but still hasn't found a home with a publisher. (You might like it as it could compared to BLBC, but the POV character is lower middle class, a returned Vietnam vet, who meets and falls in love with a girl from the wealthy suburbs. Anyway, I'm sure it's not a great book, but I'm also sure it's a damn good one. I hope to publish it before I end up somewhere over the rainbow. Question, do you know any houses that would consider a book from a writer without an agent? AND... Do you know of anyone who reviews unpublished books (so the writer will have some kind of review before the book hits the streets?
Paul, thanks for the kind words. My wife and I used to live in Truckee, so we wandered over to Reno a time or two. Years ago I read Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s The City of Trembling Leaves, which is largely set in Reno. Fairly sure I enjoyed it but can’t remember much about it anymore.
I’m afraid I can’t help you find a publisher for your book. If it makes you feel any better I’ve got a dozen of my own unpublished novels stashed away in closets throughout my home. If I knew of a publisher willing to take on a novel by an obscure old fart like me, I’d be happy to recommend them.
I’m afraid I can’t even give your book a look right now because I’m buried in writing assignments that require all kinds of reading and research. I publish essays in the online magazine Quillette fairly often, and each of those usually requires me to acquaint (or reacquaint) myself with a half dozen books or more. The same is true of these Substack essays.
I suppose we should both just be grateful that we’ve still got enough of our marbles left to continue writing books, and not worry too much about the fact that the commercial publishing industry has no place for us.
Will do, Kevin. I've just finished another book and now have three that I'm pitching. I'll continue my quest because what else can a writer do? Good luck to you in all your endeavors. Watch for my next post from A Beautiful Spleen.
Kevin, thanks for the review. It was very informative and interesting. Didn't know much about the 'brat pack' writers. I was too busy reading all the greats, the old guys, Hemmingway, I never read BLBC when it came out. I was writing my own book at the time and was, maybe, likely, a little jealous of al the attention the writer was getting. I've been reading the old guys, Mailer, Bellow, Theroux... (I'm currently reading W&P, 600 pages in and hoping I can get through it as my TBR pile is growing.)
I stumbled on Canin a couple years ago and really liked Emperor of the Air. Read something by Carver, can't recall which. I liked Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I also love the war writers and their work from the 60s and 70s, Vonneget and Heller.
I have a set of Fitzgerald books. Never liked Gatsby, actually, never 'got it,' whatever it was. (Thanks for your analysis of same. It's on my shelf but I doubt I'll re-read it.) Same with Catcher in the Rye, which I read in HS. I loved McCarthy's Border Trilogy. I don't want to read The Road, seems too grim.
I loved The Bonfires of the Vanities, and A Man in Full by Wolfe. Never read Douglas Kennedy. Loved Updike's Rabbit series.
Speaking of 'The canon of Serious American Literature,' does such a thing exist anymore? Seems like whatever was in there might now be in the trash bins in the alleys behind the workhouses of Big Publishing.
I see you're in Sac. I'm across the border in the Reno area. (Has California Forest Fire Setting Season started yet? I haven't see any smoke yet.)
I'll let you go now.
PS. My most recent (unpublished) book, The Fake Memoir of a Mid-List Writer, has been both long-listed and short listed, but still hasn't found a home with a publisher. (You might like it as it could compared to BLBC, but the POV character is lower middle class, a returned Vietnam vet, who meets and falls in love with a girl from the wealthy suburbs. Anyway, I'm sure it's not a great book, but I'm also sure it's a damn good one. I hope to publish it before I end up somewhere over the rainbow. Question, do you know any houses that would consider a book from a writer without an agent? AND... Do you know of anyone who reviews unpublished books (so the writer will have some kind of review before the book hits the streets?
Thanks again for an enjoyable post!
Paul, thanks for the kind words. My wife and I used to live in Truckee, so we wandered over to Reno a time or two. Years ago I read Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s The City of Trembling Leaves, which is largely set in Reno. Fairly sure I enjoyed it but can’t remember much about it anymore.
I’m afraid I can’t help you find a publisher for your book. If it makes you feel any better I’ve got a dozen of my own unpublished novels stashed away in closets throughout my home. If I knew of a publisher willing to take on a novel by an obscure old fart like me, I’d be happy to recommend them.
I’m afraid I can’t even give your book a look right now because I’m buried in writing assignments that require all kinds of reading and research. I publish essays in the online magazine Quillette fairly often, and each of those usually requires me to acquaint (or reacquaint) myself with a half dozen books or more. The same is true of these Substack essays.
I suppose we should both just be grateful that we’ve still got enough of our marbles left to continue writing books, and not worry too much about the fact that the commercial publishing industry has no place for us.
Hang in there!
Will do, Kevin. I've just finished another book and now have three that I'm pitching. I'll continue my quest because what else can a writer do? Good luck to you in all your endeavors. Watch for my next post from A Beautiful Spleen.