Wow. I just found out that Mary Gaitskill's new novel, Veronica, is finally out and is a finalist for the National Book Award - right on! I've been a fan (yeah, I know that's an out of style word these days, we are supposed to be "great admirers", right?) of Ms. Gaitskill's since her first novel and through the short fiction collections, is that the right order?
I love the reviews I have read about the novel so far. A not so pretty view of the modeling industry? Yes. Anyone remember the Leonard Cohen song, "First We Take Manhattan"? Jeez, did Kate Moss do any reading in rehab? Goodness, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. One of things I have always appreciated about this woman's work is how unsparingly unsentimental it is.
This said, couldn't help but notice Janet Maslin's observation of something resembling a hopeful or happy ending. Nice. I've never met MG but her husband, Peter, once described her to me as having a generosity of spirit unlike anyone he'd ever met. Actually, in many ways I'd describe him in this manner.
Art often imitates life and vice versa and, God help me, as cynical and unsparingly critical as I can be in my assessment of the world around me, I do love it when good things happen to those who friggin' deserve it. I strongly suspect these two do
Okay, now I'm on the lookout for what I expect to be a rather brilliant book on the nature of suffering, The Book of Calamaties, by said husband.
Oh yes, and my old pal, Lisa Phillips, has a book about NPR coming out in the spring.
coda - given what wunderwriter Lauren Slater had to say about the veracity of reviews while in town last weekend, I am being cautiously optimistic in my enthusiasm re: this entire post. Of course, it's all subjective. Yo Go - Heisenberg.
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