The book's very appearance is a shock. The thing seems charred, page edges black, the pages themselves crumpled-looking, splattered with blood and ink and worse. It's all a reminder "how you never know it's coming until it's there and then it's there." Butler gives us ample warning.
BLAKE BUTLER | Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline | September 16 at 7 pm | Free | 617.566.6660 or www.brooklinebooksmith.com
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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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