Book Reviews | Chapter 16

In the Land of the Unreliable Narrator

By Lorraine M. López

October 4, 2012

October 4, 2012 Within a week of its release, Junot Díaz’s new book, This Is How You Lose Her, appeared on The New York Times bestseller list. Rarely does a book of short stories—rarely does literary fiction by a Latino author—generate attention like this. Rarer still are collections that deserve such hype, but in this case, the excitement is well deserved. Díaz, who this week won a MacArthur “genius” grant, is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and his growing legion of fans ought to be well pleased, even thrilled, by the nine dynamic stories in this collection. Junot Díaz will discuss This is How You Lose Her at Nashville’s Southern Festival of Books on October 13 at 4 p.m. in the War Memorial Auditorium. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Across the Generations

By Sean Kinch

October 2, 2012

October 2, 2012 Louise Erdrich does not fit into any pigeonhole. Her career, spanning three decades and twenty-six books, may once have belonged in the category of the “Native American renaissance” of the late-twentieth century, but that classification is now too restrictive. Her work, which still typically depicts Indians of the American Midwest, reaches toward the universal even as it remains rooted in the particulars of the lives of the Indians who were driven from traditional lands and into the dubious safety of reservations. On October 9 at 6:15 p.m., Louise Erdrich will discuss The Round House at the Nashville Public Library as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

La Vie Bohème

By Tina LoTufo

October 1, 2012

October 1, 2012 In 1926, two New Orleans roommates—one a writer, the other an artist—decided to put together a little book about their French Quarter circle of friends, most of whom were also writers and artists, and publish a few hundred copies, consisting mainly of caricatures and witty captions. In Dixie Bohemia: A French Quarter Circle in the 1920s, John Shelton Reed uses this little book by artist William Spratling and his roommate—a fellow by the name of William Faulkner—as a snapshot out of time through which to explore the bohemian arts community that thrived in the Vieux Carré of the 1920s. John Shelton Reed will discuss Dixie Bohemia at Nashville’ s Southern Festival of Books on October 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Legislative Plaza Room 12. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Misfits and Magic

By Tina LoTufo

September 27, 2012

September 27, 2012 When Wendy Welch and her Scottish husband, Jack Beck, decided to open a used bookstore in the small town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, they had a whimsical vision of what their lives would be like. Soon enough, they were introduced to the long hours, aching backs, small margins, and myriad problems that make up the life of an independent bookseller. In The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, Welch describes the evolution of their business, as they are led full-circle to the realization that, despite all the headaches, “Bookshops are magic, and books are the road maps by which misfits find each other.” Wendy Welch will discuss The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on October 6 at 2 p.m., Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 8 at 6:30 p.m., and at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on November 9 at 6 p.m.

Weirdlandia

By Ed Tarkington

September 21, 2012

September 21, 2012 Colin Meloy, frontman and primary songwriter for the Decemberists, is best known for his darkly ironic sensibility and a penchant for the macabre. These characteristics are on ample display in The Wildwood Chronicles, Meloy’s auspicious venture into the world of children’s fantasy fiction, featuring illustrations by his wife, Carson Ellis. Under Wildwood continues the standard Meloy and Ellis established in the first volume for blending the traditional elements of fantasy fiction with a clever, witty juxtaposition of magical forests and coffee houses frequented by vegan pacifists on bicycles. Meloy and Ellis will appear at the Nashville Children’s Theater on October 1 at 6:15 p.m. This free event is part of the Salon@615 series.

Miscarriage of Justice

By Sarah Norris

September 18, 2012

September 18, 2012 In 1993, the bodies of three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated in the woods outside West Memphis, Arkansas, and Damien Echols was convicted, with two other teenage boys, of their murder. Eighteen years later, DNA evidence and the activism of many people who believed in his innocence finally set Echols free from Death Row. He will discuss Life After Death, a memoir about his ordeal, at Nashville’s Southern Festival of Books on October 14 at 1 p.m. in the War Memorial Auditorium. All festival events are free and open to the public.

“Laced with Tyler’s trademark humor, love of pop culture, and arguably too many musical theater references, This Changes Everything is a story about how wrestling with the idea of death can birth a whole new outlook on life, how we live it, and the urgency that comes when you grasp that time is a precious commodity.”

~ the publisher