Father, Son … and Unholy Ghost: Peter Matthiessen’s “Shadow Country” presents an America struggling to recover from the hangover of the Civil War, as an entire community bears witness to the killing of “bloody” Mister E. J. Watson.
Continue readingAuthor Archives → David Eric Tomlinson
DIY MFA Reading List: “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” by Michael Chabon
Holy Shazaam Batman! Michael Chabon transmogrifies the business behind the comic book industry into an allegory on escaping from the shackles of race, sex, and capitalism in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” … and the result is out of this world.
Continue readingDIY MFA Reading List: “Best American Short Stories 2005” edited by Michael Chabon
Sometimes it takes science fiction or fantasy to hammer home the most poignant observations about the American Condition.
Continue readingDIY MFA Reading List: “Oryx & Crake” by Margaret Atwood
Will the world end in fire, or in ice? Or in a hemorrhagic virus leaving behind a few crazed survivors … and a race of genetically engineered, multi-colored midgets? Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx & Crake” takes us back to the future.
Continue readingDIY MFA Reading List: “Under the Volcano” by Malcolm Lowry
What if Hell isn’t other people at all? What if it’s just, well … you? Have a stiff drink (you’ll need it), as we descend into Malcolm Lowry’s infernal novel “Under the Volcano”.
Continue readingDIY MFA Reading List: “Underworld” by Don DeLillo
Jump-cutting back and forth through Americana, from the “shot heard ’round the world” to Lenny Bruce’s extended monologues on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Don DeLillo shines a light on America’s dark impulse to violence in “Underworld.”
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