* AN Wilson, confessing a prejudice against Nobel Prize winning authors, wonders if they stand the test of time.
In our own day, no doubt Toni Morrison and Seamus Heaney have their fans, but I would be extremely surprised if, in 100 years' time, anyone rated their work.
Then there are the figures such as Churchill and Bertrand Russell who, however worthy of commemoration for excellence of one kind or another, would not, from an all-English panel of judges, have been given a prize for literature.
* Richard Russo - whose deliriously wonderful novel Straight Man is a TEV favorite - will be offering a look at his forthcoming novel Bridge of Sighs at a forthcoming fundraiser. (The novel is part of our BEA booty.)
* The Boston Globe reports on the third Harlem Book Fair - Roxbury.
* We initially misread the headline of this story, and thought Paddington Bear had been knighted. It turns out that his creator Michael Bond is the new OBE, which is still bloody marvelous but not nearly as much fun.
* Just as the success of Embers sparked a new interest in the novels of Sandor Marai, Suite Francaise has made Irene Nemirovsky a hot property. (By the way, this is as good a time as any to make mention of the fact that the fine folks at Reading the World have invited us to lead an August reading group on Marai's The Rebels. Details to follow but we hope you'll check it out.)
* The 007 rumor mill (yes, there is such a thing and, sadly, we pay attention) is suggesting that Sebastian Faulks has been tapped to write a new James Bond adventure to coincide with the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth.
* A week in the life of Irvine Welsh.
* It was the Literary Saloon's early advocacy of Lloyd Jones's Mister Pip that sent us off after a copy. (It arrived last week.) This review in the Guardian just adds to our interest. This is how books leapfrog our To Be Read piles.
* And, finally, it wouldn't be Tour de France time without a review of Floyd Landis's version of the charges agains him, Positively False.
... and Lloyd Jones was interviewed on ReadySteadyBook way back in August 2005 -- enjoy! (http://www.readysteadybook.com/Article.aspx?page=lloydjones)
Posted by: Mark Thwaite | July 09, 2007 at 02:07 AM
Morrison & Heaney not rating in a 100 years. Hmm...I don't know about that.
Posted by: Writer, Rejected | July 09, 2007 at 10:44 AM
I'm not sure anyone will read his sort of boring poetry, but his translation of Beowulf should stand for some time.
Posted by: JH | July 09, 2007 at 04:50 PM