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Rick Kleffel talks with author David Vann about his new work, “Dirt”, which Kleffel refers to as, “a hilariously bleak comedy”.
Also on the show, more from last week’s guest – Mark Sundeen who joins Rick to talk about his book on Daniel Suelo – “The Man Who Quite Money”.
Also listen to a commentaryby Ian Shoales.
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Rick Kleffel interviews writers SG Brown, Christopher Moore and Mark Sundeen. Also on the program – Ian Shoales offers a commentary about Etch-a-Sketch.
Of SG Brown’s book ‘Luck Bastard”, Rick Kleffel writes: “Browne’s prose voice, a snarky first-person monologue that is utterly entertaining, whether he’s crushing PI clichés or musing on the permutations of his invented luck economy. Browne has a superbly dry approach that is remarkably, dangerously easy to read. It’s also easy to underestimate how much this narration lets him get under our skin.”
And on Moore’s “Sacre Bleu”, here is an excerpt from Ricks commentary: “Who — or what — inspires art? What was behind the Impressionists? Christopher Moore offers his thoroughly entertaining take on painting, art, artists and the color blue in ‘Sacré Bleu,’ a supernatural journey through the lives of Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, and pretty much the entire catalogue of those whose works hang in the Louvre. Moore’s feel for the history is madcap and detailed, his prose as engagingly funny as ever and his plot pulls the reader along at a fierce pace.”
And then, Mark Sundeen joins Rick to talk about his book on Daniel Suelo, in “The Man Who Quite Money” - a Walden for the 21st century, the true story of a man who has radically reinvented “the good life”.
Read more about both artists at Rick Kleffel’s website: Bookotron.
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Rick Kleffel speaks with psychological anthropologist Tanya Luhrman about her scientific look at American evangelicals, When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God. Science examines — but does not dismiss — the supernatural
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Theodore Roosevelt is such a colorful figure in American history that his life warrants the output of multiple writers. On this episode of the Agony Column, Rick explores two books about the Rough Riding, trust-busting, vice-despising political and military juggernaut. ‘Honor in the Dust’ by Gregg Jones is a historical thriller opening with an explosion on the Maine in Havana, escalating towards a military invasion of the Philippines. It’s an era of yellow journalism, an America frightened of the still-strong Spanish empire, and public controversy over the using of water-torture to interrogate prisoners – the analogies to more recent events seem here are deliberate, this window into the past is filled with scenarios that ought to sound familiar and shed light on the present.
‘Island of Vice’ zooms in on an earlier chapter in Roosevelt’s career – his tenure as the police chief of New York City. In contrast to the heroic posturing of his presidency, here we find Roosevelt in an uphill battle with vice in what was then the most corrupt city in the country, accumulating enemies everywhere and ridiculed in the newspapers. As Roosevelt rushes headlong persistent into his impossible – and ultimately unsuccessful – task, the reader is treated to a detailed portrait of the city during the lively, tumultuous Tammany Hall era.
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Rick speaks with two authors who both include elements of the fantastic & disease to explore hidden aspects of human relationships.
Extra features:
Writers on Writing – Heidi Julavits
Writers on Writing – Ben Marcus
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This week the entire episode is devoted to Whitley Strieber’s newest book, “Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is To Come”, a follow-up on his notorious alien encounter tome “Communion”. Placing the events from “Communion” in a broader context, Strieber speculates on the nature and intentions of his ‘visitors’ via exploring such strange events as crop circles, cattle mutilations, UFO sightings, alien abductions, near-death experiences, close encounters, and unexplained bodily implants. Also under consideration are the author’s bizarre childhood memories of military experimentation, NASA scientists who have seen flying saucers, a various other musings centered around the idea that the world may be a much weirder place than we are usually willing to admit. At just what actually IS going on with that high-pitched ringing sound?
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Mystery writer Tim Dorsey discusses his latest, “Pineapple Grenade”, a murder whodunit involving political intrigue and written with satirical snark. Dorsey introduces readers and hero Serge Storms along the way to Extreme Dominos, a femme fatale, dead sharks in the middle of downtown boulevards, a rogue CIA cell, Magnum P.I. trivia, and the Most Laid Man in Miami. Dorsey also explains how his writing fits in to the often quirky genre of Florida Noir.
The newest installment of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett thrillers, “Force of Nature” builds intrigue around the former special forces operative and falconer Nate Romanowski – a character inspired in part by a true-life incident involving Al-Qaeda! Set against a backdrop of Wyoming’s sweeping wilderness landscapes, “Force of Nature” weaves exposition about ecology with a plot which places game warden Pickett and his entire family in harms way.
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‘Mirage’ is author Matt Ruff’s topsy-turvy view a world where terrorism might like the same, exceot the names, faces, locations and religious orders have changed, depicted in ironic fashion. Read more.
And then Alex Gilvarry reads from his book, ‘The Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant’. Read Rick Kleffel’s review here.
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Drawing from his real-life experience as a district attorney, William Landay’s new novel “Defending Jacob” is a tense courtroom drama about an assistant D.A. who must testify in a case involving his own family, which begins to crumble under the pressure of the son Jacob’s possible guilt. Along the way Landay serves up realistic dialog, a look at the growing role of forensic sciences in legal proceedings, and many surprises for the reader as the plot unfolds. “Defending Jacob” is a character-driven, suspenseful murder mystery that also a work of notable literary merit, in the tradition of “Too Kill a Mockingbird” and “Anatomy of a Murder”.
Ian Shoales’ weekly segment is about the phenomena of “de-Baptizing”, something of an attempted reversal of the Baptismal ritual.
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Writer Anne Rice
Rick Kleffel interviewed Anne Rice for this program. Anne Rice has the talent to transform darkness into art, but she’s lively and just as engaging as any of her creations when she sits down to talk about her work.
Her latest novel ‘The Wolf Gift‘, is a literate, literally ripping yarn about werewolves in Northern California. She’s just as excited about the novel as those who read it will be once they start.
Also on the show, commentator Ian Shoales; plus the literary events calendar.dar.
