Chapter 16 - Part 567

The Particular Art of Magical Realism

Aimee Bender talks with Chapter 16 about her work

By Susannah Felts | October 25, 2010

October 25, 2010 Aimee Bender, a modern fabulist and sharp prose stylist, sprinkles fairy-tale dust into contemporary settings and conflicts. The central conceit of her latest novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, is fetchingly simple and surreal: one day, a young girl names Rose Edelstein bites into a forkful of her mother’s lemon cake and finds she can “taste” her mother’s feelings. Bender recently spoke with Chapter 16 about the book, food as metaphor, and what compels her to write magical realism. She will discuss her work at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on October 28 at 7 p.m.

Victorian Madness and Murder

In Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander channels her inner Gothic

By Faye Jones | October 22, 2010

October 22, 2010 Lady Emily has not had the most auspicious beginnings to married life. Her first husband, essentially a stranger, died as a newlywed. On her second honeymoon, she was shot while helping her husband Colin, a British intelligence agent, on one of his investigations and suffered a subsequent miscarriage. In Dangerous to Know, Tasha Alexander’s fifth Lady Emily novel, the protagonists have returned to Colin’s mother’s house in France to recuperate. Naturally, this recovery is hampered.

The Other Side of the Desk

Jon Meacham joins Random House as an editor

By Margaret Renkl | October 21, 2010

October 21, 2010 Chattanooga native and Sewanee graduate Jon Meacham has taken a job as executive vice president and executive editor at Random House, which published his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. He will acquire and edit nonfiction titles and will begin his duties on January 3, 2011.

Cool with the Lines

Eighties pop phenomenon Rick Springfield is back in the headlines with a tell-all memoir

By Fernanda Moore | October 21, 2010

October 21, 2010 Late, Late at Night, Rick Springfield’s tell-all memoir, opens with a seventeen-year-old Rick swinging from a noose, convinced his life is not worth living. Happily for Rick, as well as for the zillions of fans who would, in the 1980s, fall in love not only with his endlessly catchy parade of hit singles like “Jessie’s Girl,” but also with Dr. Noah Drake, the sexy character he played to perfection on the venerable soap opera General Hospital, the noose gave way just in time. Springfield talked with Chapter 16 prior to his Nashville and Murfreesboro appearances on October 22 and 23.

Nice Work

Sonny Brewer assembles an astonishing pool of Southern writers to reflect on their day jobs

By Michael Ray Taylor | October 20, 2010

October 20, 2010 Novelist and anthologist Sonny Brewer may have hit upon the best-ever idea for an essay collection. Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Acclaimed Authors and the Day Jobs They Quit contains accounts by Pat Conroy, John Grisham, Winston Groom, and a score of other Southern writers on the sorts of work they did on their way to becoming professional writers.

Quite a Few Words

Adam Ross snags a rare two-week appearance on NPT’s A Word on Words

By Margaret Renkl | October 19, 2010

October 19, 2010 It’s an authorial feather many writers never get to add to their caps at all: an invitation to appear on legendary journalist John Seigenthaler’s NPT program, A Word on Words. But Nashville novelist Adam Ross recently appeared in two different episodes of the program. Listen to the podcasts here.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker