Fictionalized biographies of famous people seem to me a risky endeavor. One could drown herself in years of research and still be at a loss when it comes to telling their story first-hand. But I can understand the fascination—especially with the legendary Fitzgeralds. Told from Zelda’s perspective, Z gives readers an up-close re-imagining of this [...]
I’m a sucker for stories of unlikely pairs. Especially ones that turn out to be unlikely heroes, and in this case, better because of the other. But not in that predictable teeny-bop way. Far from it: Eleanor and Park are two of the best-drawn characters lifted from teen book pages. I believed them. They’re unique, [...]
Hazel Grace, 16, likes watching ridiculous TV, reading the book An Imperial Affliction, and being around Augustus Waters. Augustus Waters, 17, likes Hazel Grace, video games, and really good metaphors. They both dislike cancer. In fact, they would tell you it sucks. Hazel’s lung cancer, diagnosed at age 13, became more manageable after a medical [...]
You know you’ve made it as a writer when Thomas Freaking Pynchon leaves his endorsement on your book’s cover jacket. Which is the case for George Saunders and his latest collection of stories, Tenth of December. Pynchon says Saunders has an “astoundingly tuned voice.” Indeed: Tuned into the layers and intonations of culture and social [...]
I forgot to do a birthday post, but I came across this today and I want to claim it as my getting-a-bit-more-grown-up mantra. Turning 26 felt a bit weird/panicky/that’s-funny, I-thought-I-had-paused-at-23 sort of feeling. But now I am thinking how constantly growing older and growing into yourself is a good thing, because otherwise our awkward phases [...]
The subtitle of Sheila Heti’s How Should A Person Be? caught my eye: “A Novel from Life.” Perhaps a fictional memoir could be expected, yet within a few pages I knew that identifying the precise type of this book would not be possible. Sheila, a young creative and aspiring playwright, offers a story of self, [...]
The other week I got a text from my friend Emily in LA, who sent proof that she had found my Sketchbook Project sketchbook while the exhibit was on its Cali tour! Once again, I just love the concept of sharing art across the globe! Pretty neat stuff. And now, my sketchbook has at last [...]
An exquisite, blistering debut novel. Three brothers tear their way through childhood— smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn—he’s Puerto Rican, she’s white—and their love is a [...]
My friend Ashley and I enjoyed a glimpse of re-living the college life the other evening at Butler University, where we attended a Visiting Writers Series session with author Jhumpa Lahiri. The sweet lady sitting next to me asked what year I was in, and although I informed her I was already a graduate, though [...]