Readers may cavil with Athitakis’ choices, but they can’t question his research, erudition, and clarity of expression.
A collection of literary criticism that demonstrates how the Midwest of Willa Cather and Sinclair Lewis has been significantly altered in the works of novelists who have explored the region in recent decades.
Athitakis, a freelance critic who has published in the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, Chicago Sun-Times, and other venues, debuts with a journey through the Midwest (whose boundaries are fluid) and through some key works by writers he thinks are most effectively using the region in their fiction. Arranged thematically, the chapters deal with such subjects as the changes in the region’s legendary work ethic, immigration, religion, and fiction, eccentricity and oddness, the bildungsroman, and so on. In each section, the author identifies (in boldface) those writers he wishes to examine and/or recommend. Many of the names are familiar to readers of serious contemporary fiction—e.g., Marilynne Robinson, David Foster Wallace, Toni Morrison, Jonathan Franzen—but some names, especially those in the final chapter (writers on whom he has not focused earlier), will surprise. Others will be familiar principally to the cognoscenti: Stuart Dybek and Angela Flournoy are just a few of them. Among the most impressive aspects of Athitakis’ work is his comprehensive knowledge of the writers of the region, both former and current. He ably discusses not only their well-known works, but also their early and/or minor works. Throughout, he offers perceptive observations about each writer: Marilynne Robinson’s works are “more irreverent about religion than they let on,” and Gillian Flynn has identified “a secretly menacing quality to the Midwest that often goes unspoken.” Unafraid of declaration, Athitakis writes that Middlesex is Jeffrey Eugenides’ “greatest achievement,” and he boldly delivers a possible candidate for The Great American Novel: Leon Forrest’s massive Divine Days (1992).
Readers may cavil with Athitakis’ choices, but they can’t question his research, erudition, and clarity of expression.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9977742-8-3
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Belt Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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