A trapped possum figures prominently in Bennie’s life. Is he any safer than that possum?
Bennie is obviously a guy who never had refuge at home. He never had that kind of safety when his mother was taking him to find her own ideal of refuge in Mexico or wherever, and that’s his great failing: always believing that life is elsewhere. At the end, he’s come to the reckoning that he’s not going to get another life. He has to make his life from what he’s got.
Is that why he changes the ending of the book he’s translating?
That’s the great lesson he learns. His life is not a fixed text and he can change the ending on his own life, just as he’s doing on this novel.
Have you gotten any response from American Airlines?
I haven’t, and I keep checking my frequent-flier miles and they’re still there. They haven’t wiped them out yet. When Houghton Mifflin purchased the book, they said, we have to send it to legal. And I had this panic attack. If you take American Airlines out, it’s taking out not the main character, but close. I was terrified, but it’s okay. Kinky Friedman may have paved the way for using brand names in novels. I think it was Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola, and there’s nothing cooler than falling under the Kinky Friedman precedent.
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The JCA has been at it since 1985, a collective of musicians who are primarily composers rather than players, in need of an outlet to hear their pieces.
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Novelist Julian Barnes is a brilliant writer, but he’s not self-revelatory.
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- Interview: Michael Lang
"At the end, he talks about how wonderful it was, but throughout the entire day, Pete Townshend was like the Grinch that stole Christmas. He was uptight, miserable, hated being there, and wanted to go home."
- Have a nice future
Blake Butler rains gravel and glass
- Loss leader
The stories in Jill McCorkle's new collection are about the battle to stay conscious and be truthful with yourself — to live beyond illusion.
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In his books Venus Drive , The Subject Steve , and Home Land , novelist and short-story writer Sam Lipsyte revels in rage.
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In prison, Piper Kerman had to get used to, among other trials, a bathroom infested with insects.
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There's only one thing more dangerous than being an ambitious, attractive twentysomething female stumbling through the publishing industry, attempting to secure quantifiable career success and, also, a fantastic boyfriend: the impulse to write about it.
- Down and dirty
For most sane people, caving is an inexplicable pastime. What, after all, is the appeal of claustrophobic crawls, frigid swims, extreme heights (even underground), oceans of insects, no toilets, and ever-present, absolute darkness?
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Topics:
Books
, Media, Mammals, Nature and the Environment, More
, Media, Mammals, Nature and the Environment, Wildlife, Books, Transportation, Air Travel, Wolfgang Puck, Kinky Friedman, Brookline Booksmith, Less
