Search Results for: amis

Amis on Bellow

Martin Amis has a tribute to Saul Bellow in the December issue of The Atlantic.

The American novel, having become dominant, was in turn dominated by the Jewish-American novel, and everybody knows who dominated that: Saul Bellow. His was and is a pre-eminence that rests not on sales figures and honorary degrees, not on rosettes and sashes, but on incontestable legitimacy. To hold otherwise is to waste your breath.

Amis talks about the preoccupations of Saul Bellow’s characters, and adds:

Of course, the Jewish-American novel subsumes the experience of the immigrant, with an “old country” at one remove; and the emphasis is on the anxiety of entitlement (marked in Roth, too, and in Malamud). It is not an anxiety about succeeding, about making good; it is an anxiety about the right to pronounce, the right to judge



Spring Update

Before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted all our lives, I was supposed to be touring to promote the paperback edition of The Other Americans, with stops in Berkeley, Pasadena, Minneapolis, Grand Forks, Arlington, New York, and Cincinnati. None of that happened, of course. We’re now seven weeks into our quarantine. Where possible, I’ve connected with readers through Zoom, which has opened up book events to people who are in different cities at once. I’m happy to engage in this way, though it doesn’t feel quite the same as a live event.

The paperback tour was to be followed by the April launch of my nonfiction book, Conditional Citizens, and tour stops in Los Angeles, New York, Greensboro, Green Bay, Ann Arbor, Madison, St. Louis, Tulsa, Tempe, Santa Fe, Washington DC, Harrisburg, and Dallas. But given that most bookstores are shuttered, my publisher decided to postpone the hardcover release until September 2020. Some things can’t be delayed, though. The April issue of Harper’s, which includes a long excerpt from Conditional Citizens, came out as scheduled, as did the May issue of Alta Magazine, which has both an excerpt and a review. Sierra Magazine also ran a review, as did the Los Angeles Review of Books.

If these early reviews of Conditional Citizens spark your interest, perhaps you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy.

I’m a firm believer that books are never late. The reading experience is not lessened by having to wait a few months more for it. In the meantime, I hope you’re staying home if you’re able, and that you’re all safe and healthy.



Book Tour, Reviews, Interviews

I’m back in Los Angeles after a wonderful couple of weeks on tour, during which I got to meet family, friends, and readers. It was such a treat to talk about The Other Americans with audiences in Boston, DC, New York, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. So thank you to everyone who came out to the events!

While I was traveling, reviews of The Other Americans appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, the Seattle Times, and NPR . Profiles appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and Lit Hub. I also did interviews with Electric Literature, the Observer, and KQED Forum.

Also last month, while I was dashing out of my hotel room to catch a train, I found out that the Today Show had featured The Other Americans in a segment on book clubs! Isaac Fitzgerald recommended the novel and Alejandra Ramos suggested a menu to match it.  You can watch the segment here. And please tell your book club about it!

Photo: Powell’s marquee.



West Coast Tour

laila-atdiesel

I’m packing today for the West Coast portion of my book tour. If you happen to be in Seattle, Portland, or San Francisco, I would love to see you! In Seattle, I’ll be reading at the public library, a place I love both for its architecture and for the people who work in it. The event is co-sponsored by Elliott Bay Book Co., where the booksellers always have the best recommendations for what to read next. I had a wonderful time in Seattle when my previous novel, Secret Son, was a citywide read there, so I’m really looking forward to being back.

September 16, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
Seattle Public Library in conjunction with Elliott Bay Book Co.
1000 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, Washington

After that, I’ll be reading at the legendary City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. I’m excited about the prospect of seeing family and friends from the area. Details are below:

September 17, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
City Lights Booksellers and Publishers
261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, California

My last stop of the week will be at Powell’s Books. All I can say about this bookstore is that I want to set up a tent and live there. It’s that great.

September 18, 2014
7:30 PM
Reading and Discussion
Powell’s Books
1005 W. Burnside Street
Portland, Oregon

If you want to know a little more about the genesis of The Moor’s Account, you can read this piece I wrote for Biographile. I also created a musical playlist for Largehearted Boy’s Booknotes. Several new reviews of the book appeared over the last few days: The Wall Street Journal called the novel “sensitive” and “elegant;” the literary magazine The Millions said it was “magnificent;” and the Seattle Times found it “meticulously researched and inventive.” The New York Times made it an Editors’ Choice this week.