ONE of the greatest thrills of my professional life was the chance to interview the novelist ursula le guin last summer at her home in portland. HERE is my piece, which runs sunday in the LAT.le guin is one of the few writers from my childhood -- 5th or 6th grade i think, for the "earthsea" books -- who gives me the same pleasure, if in a different key, as an adult.in person, i found her -- at … [Read more...]
The Return of Bret Easton Ellis
NEW yorker scribe dana goodyear turned out an engaging "talk of the town" piece on brat pack novelist bret easton ellis and the new film made of his story collection "the informers."i've had several encounters with the "less than zero" author over the years, and HERE is one of the latimes pieces i'm proudest of. the piece looks at his early breakout, the backlash against "american psycho," the … [Read more...]
The Visions of Robert Silverberg
THE term "literary science-fiction writer" is nearly as awkward as renaming comic books "graphic novels." but for some figures it's important to understanding, as it is in the case of robert silverberg, author of "nightwings," "the book of skulls," the valentine series of fantasy novels and the darker-than-dark philip-roth-gone-telepath novel from the early '70s, "dying inside."i had the great … [Read more...]
Back From the Grave: Charles Dickens
HE was the star of the 19th century, and has become fiercely relevant in ours: take a bow charles dickens!!thanks to the plunging economy, the awesome show "the wire," and a bunch of bbc adaptations, dickens is back in a big way. HERE is my piece from today's LAT in which i speak to a producer at mastepiece (theatre), a ucla literary scholar and former wire scribe (and onetime baltsun colleague) … [Read more...]
Kicking Ass with Evan Wright
SO far the most acclaimed first-person account of the current Iraq War is "Generation Kill," in which LA journalist evan wright embedded himself in a marine battalion quite different from the soldiers who fought the vietnam war.today i have an LA Times piece on wright, who i sat down with recently. a very serious, sincere and complicated dude who makes the case (both in his work and in … [Read more...]
Chasing Women with James Ellroy
OVER the last year or so i've been lucky enough to hang out with james ellroy, self-proclaimed demon dog of american crime fiction, including a bizarre/memorable dinner at taylor's steakhose at which the author insisted i bring along some good looking women.because he always seems to be on camera -- barking like a dog, offering off-color anecdotes and ethnic jokes, and generally acting out -- it … [Read more...]
Michael Chabon, Genre and Literary Criticism
READERS of this blog probably need no urging on what a fine novelist michael chabon is -- and i direct anyone who doubts over to "kavalier and clay" or a number of his other excellent works of fiction.but literary criticism, even by as esteemed a talent as mr. chabon, tends to fly under the radar, and that's why it gives me great pleasure to highlight his essay/criticism collection "maps and … [Read more...]
Wallace Stegner and the American West
THOUGH he's best known for his novels, wallace stegner's non-fiction, especially his essays, are among the wonders of the american west... here is a fine NYT piece by northwest correspondent timothy egan on the occasion of the great writer's 100th birthday. (stegner was born 60 years before yours truly, almost to the day.)the subject of egan's piece is stegner's assertion that the literary west … [Read more...]
Yiyun Li, "The Vagrants" and China’s Cultural Revolution
This sunday i have a piece in the LAT on author Yiyun Li, a native of China now living in Oakland -- and her new novel, "The Vagrants," which is quite beautifully observed as well as brutal in the tale it tells. some of you may know her from her exquisite short stories, which have a bit of william trevor to them.interested to read a bit of the book? this will take you to an excerpt published on … [Read more...]
Roberto Saviano and "Gomorrah"
THE italian journalist roberto saviano has become famous for his book blowing the roof off the neapolitan mob, which is bigger, older and likely more deadly than the sicilian mafia.Here is my interview with saviano, who has been under police protection since late 2006. his book is pretty incredible, and full of ideas and analysis in the way some of these tough you-are-there books arent. we talked … [Read more...]