Richard Guy Wilson and Edith Wharton

Yesterday I had the opportunity to here noted architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson (he of America's Castles fame) speak at the incomparable Montgomery Place estate in Annandale-on-Hudson (near Red Hook, NY).

The introduction mentioned Richard Guy Wilson's new book, which I think will be of interest not only to those who appreciate architecture. Its focus is on The Mount (now a historic house museum) and Edith Wharton's life there. Because the publication of Edith Wharton at Home is timed to coincide with Wharton's 150th birthday, I first suspected that the book might be a commissioned anniversary publication, but now that I've learned that Monacelli Press is associated with Random House that doesn't seem likely. But, even if it Edith Wharton at Home was a commissioned anniversary publication, the caliber of its author and subject practically ensures a quality product.

Edith Wharton at Home: Life at the Mount by Richard Guy Wilson
(forthcoming September 2012)

Completed in 1902, The Mount sits in the rolling landscape of the Berkshire Hills, with views overlooking Laurel Lake and all the way out to the mountains. At the turn of the century, Lenox and Stockbridge were thriving summer resort communities, home to Vanderbilts, Sloanes, and other leading families of the Gilded Age. Edith Wharton at Home connects The Mount to that milieu and details Wharton's design of the house and landscape. Embodying principles set forth in Wharton's famous book The Decorating of Houses and her deep knowledge of Italian gardens, The Mount is truly an autobiographical house. There Wharton wrote some of her best-known and successful novels including Ethan Frome and House of Mirth.
Published to coincide with the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of Wharton's birth, Edith Wharton at Home presents Wharton as a writer, as a designer, and as a hostess. Authoritative text by Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia and host of the popular series America's Castles is illustrated with archival images as well as new color photography of the restoration of The Mount and its spectacular gardens.

Siri Hustvedt

Powells' blog has an interesting interview with Siri Hustvedt, who has a new book out, The Summer without Men, her fifth novel. While I have to admit that I enjoy some of the typical author-interview questions (like "what are you reading now?"), I'm pleased that Jill Owens cultivated a substantive conversation with Hustvedt.

Now, I've been meaning to read Siri Hustvedt for some time. She's married to Paul Auster (brilliance by association?) and a former coworker with very good taste in books recommended her to me.

I don't think I want to start with The Summer without Men though despite the fact that I'm particularly intrigued by the character Mr. Nobody and with Mia's synesthesia after reading this interview. Maybe What I Loved or The Sorrows of an American? The Enchantment of Lily Dahl? And The Shaking Woman (not a novel) is supposed to be good.
Any suggestions, dear readers?

Philip Roth

Announced today: American author Philip Roth is the winner of the 2011 Man Book International Prize.

The international prize is different from the normal Booker in that it recognizes a writer's oeuvre,¹ rather than an individual novel. A relatively new award, the international prize is awarded every two years. The previous winners are Chinua Achebe (2007), Ismail Kadare (2005), and Alice Munro (2009).

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I haven't read much Roth. Of his more recent novels, I've only read The Plot Against America, which I loved.² Nemesis is on my list as a must-read for both me and my mom.

The other contenders for this year's prize:

• Wang Anyi
• Juan Goytisolo
• James Kelman
• John le Carré, who withdrew
• Amin Maalouf
• David Malouf
• Dacia Maraini
• Rohinton Mistry
• Philip Pullman
• Marilynne Robinson
• Su Tong
• Anne Tyler

I'm unfamiliar with a few of these authors, which is something that needs to be rectified.

Image (c) Nancy Crampton

1. oeuvre: the lifework of a writer, artist, or composer. We get this lovely word from the French; it descended from the Latin opus.
2. I actually wrote a paper for an early American literature class comparing The Plot Against America to Hope Leslie by Catharine Sedgwick. Another aside. I ended up in this class because one on literature of the diaspora had been canceled and I was bound and determined to take something after all the hoops the department made me go through in order to register for a graduate-level course as a faculty member (seriously it was like applying to a PhD program; I even had to get letters from former professors and submit a writing sample).

Washington Irving Book Awards

Last Friday I attended part of the Westchester Library Association conference and its Washington Irving Book Award event.

The Washington Irving Book Award (given biennially) honors books by Westchester authors for books published in the past two years. Books are vetted by a committee of librarians based on readability, literary quality, and wide general appeal.

The event included Jonathan Kruk as Washington Irving, short speeches by the award-winning authors, Q&A, and book-signing.

Seth Godin (Linchpin) was persona non grata after his lunchtime presentation on the future of libraries so he didn't stick around for the award event (I guess librarians are as resistant to change as everyone else).¹ There were a few other winners that weren't at the award ceremony.² I hope they had good excuses because each of them now has a black mark in my book.

Quite a few of the authors in attendance adapted their speeches because they felt the need to respond to Godin and nearly all of them shared their feelings about libraries and librarians. I left the room wanting to read all the books (even those I wouldn't normally consider) because the authors were charming and appreciative.

I do have to say that my favorite part of the event was during the question-and-answer period when someone asked about where the authors worked. Each author answered in turn and their responses were diverse (though apparently Jonathan Tropper and Jeff Pearlman fight over a table at the Cosi in New Rochelle). Right after the last award-winning author responded, Kruk/Irving popped up and explained his writing habits. It was a lovely surprise and made everyone grin.

Now without further ado, here are the award-winners (minus the absentees):

Fiction:

• Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace
  At the research library at the Baseball Hall of Fame Wallace came across a photograph of a teenage girl in uniform shaking hands with Babe Ruth (Lou Gehrig standing by). That girl was baseball phenom Jackie Mitchell, who it seems is the reason that women were banned from professional baseball in the 1930s and she was in the inspiration for Diamond Ruby, the author's first novel (he's written nonfiction in the past).
• In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
  Another debut novel. Pintoff's protagonist, detective Simon Ziele, leaves Little Germany in the wake of the General Slocum disaster to settle in Dobson (a fictional town that's a bit of Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, and Irvington) only to have his peace shattered by a brutal murder nearby. Apparently In the Shadow of Gotham is full of period detail and highlights early criminology.
• The Man Who Never Returned by Peter Quinn
  The sequel to The Hour of the Cat, The Man Who Never Returned follows the investigation into inexplicable 1930 disappearance of NYC judge Joe Crater.
• Scared to Death by Wendy Corsi Staub
  The sequel to Live to Tell; a thriller. Don't read the Publishers Weekly review as it seems to give away far too much about the plot.
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
  Judd's perfect life comes crashing down when he loses his job and wife in the same day (yep, his wife's sleeping with his boss). To make matters worse his father dies the same day and he's stuck sitting shiva with his unbearable family. It's going to be a long seven days.

Nonfiction:

• American Passage: The History of Ellis Island by Vincent Cannato
  An engaging history of Ellis Island from a University of Massachusetts at Boston professor (does he live in Westchester when school's not in session?).
  It seems like Cannato tries to bridge the gap between popular history and the academy.
• Closing Time: A Memoir by Joe Queenan
  One of the things Queenan said in response to Godin's talk was "the Visigoths and Huns will always be at the gates, but I don't see why we should invite them in" (that quote's from memory so it may not be 100% accurate).
  In Closing Time he writes about growing up in a Philadelphia housing project.
• Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan
  A biography of Frank Sinatra
• Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley
  Bradley's father was one of the guys immortalized in the Iwo Jima Memorial, but he never talked about what happened in Iwo Jima. Bradley's desire to research and share that story is what started his writing career.
  This book looks a bit further in the past to Theodore Roosevelt and the US's early involvement in Asia.
• The Rocket that Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball by Jeff Pearlman
  I wouldn't normally think of picking up a book like this, but Pearlman won me over when he spoke about a disastrous book-signing he had at Fort Hood.
• This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
  This is exactly the kind of book that goes over well with librarians.
• Walking Papers: The Accident that Changes My Life and the Business that Got Me Back on My Feet by Francesco Clark
  After hearing Clark speak I have no doubt that this is an inspirational book. I am particularly impressed with the fact that he didn't use his speech as an opportunity to talk about his company.³ He spoke exclusively about his injury, his path to recovery, and how he came to write the book and he's the only one of the author's who got cut off by the moderator.

I haven't spent any time looking into the past winners of the award so I don't know whether the book's chosen this cycle are typical or not, but I have to say that I was struck by a lack of diversity in the fiction winners. We have non-genre fiction, historical fiction, and mystery/thrillers. I can see sticking to more serious fiction for awards, but if you are going to include allow truly popular fiction then I think you need to be open to all genres. I can't believe that there no Westchester authors who write romance or science fiction, horror or fantasy.

ETA: I didn't pick up a copies of any of the books since I'm currently on book acquisition ban (see post) and, believe me, there were quite a few that I was dying to bring home with me.

1. While I didn't agree with everything that Godin said (I just can't go all the way and say Wikipedia is a-ok for school kids; I still think everyone needs to learn about the importance of evaluating sources), I do agree that the library as we know it is on its way out and that we need to adapt in order to survive.
2. Don Delillo (Point Omega), Andrew Gross (Reckless), Scott L. Malcomson (Generation's End), and Cynthia Ozick (Foreign Bodies).
   
3. He mentioned it (I think he had to say something about it because it's in the title of his book), but I didn't know why he started a skincare line until I looked up a detailed synopsis of his book.

books from the library shelves: American Writers at Home

William Faulkner’s study at Rowan Oak.
The writing on the walls is an outline for Faulkner's
Pulitizer Prize- and National Book Award-winning A Fable.

American Writers at Home by J. D. McClatchy
Photographs by Erica Lennard

"This is not a book about writers, or about houses, or about America. It is a book about where and why and how American writers made a home for themselves--a place to live, yes, but above all a place to work—in a restless, rugged country" (McClatchy's introduction)¹

Featuring 300 lush and lovely full-color photographs of the homes of 21 American writers American Writers at Home is a glorious, yet substantive coffee-table book.

Like all (most?) coffee-table books, American Writers at Home inspires multiple visits rather than a cover-to-cover read. Readers will love seeing the space their favorite writers inhabited and hearing the author's take on how each of the authors' environments inspired them. American Writers at Home may also inspire some literary pilgrimages as all of the properties featured in the book, with the exception of Edna St. Vincent Millay's Steepletop, are open to the public.

While McClatchy does include a mini bibliography for each author/house at the end of American Writers at Home, he fails to provide references for individual quotes. This isn't a scholarly text, but the lack of citation drives me crazy and is probably the one thing that I do not like about this book.

One of the sites featured is Washington Irving's Sunnyside. McClatchy says of Sunnyside, "In one sense, the house [...] resembled the author's own past. It was a congeries of European motifs and pure American whimsy" (115). I think that's appropriate for an 18th century cottage to which Irving added Dutch stepped gables and a Spanish monastery-esque tower among other things.

The other authors and properties included in American Writers at Home (note how many of our authors hail from Massachusetts and Concord in particular):

• Louisa May Alcott: Orchard House (Concord, MA)
• Kate Chopin: Kate Chopin House (Cloutierville, LA)
• Emily Dickinson: Dickinson Homestead (Amherst, MA)
• Frederick Douglass: Frederick Douglass House (Washington, DC)
• Ralph Waldo Emerson: Emerson House (Concord, MA)
• William Faulkner (Rowan Oak, Oxford, MS)
• Robert Frost: Robert Frost Farm (Derry, NH)
• Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Old Manse (Concord, MA)
• Ernest Hemingway: Ernest Hemingway Home (Key West, FL)²
• Robinson Jeffers: Tor House (Carmel, CA)
• Sarah Orne Jewett: Jewett House (South Berwick, ME)
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Craigie House (Cambridge, MA)
• Herman Melville: Arrowhead (Pittsfield, MA)
• Edna St. Vincent Millay: Steepletop (Austerlitz, NY)
• Flannery O'Connor: Andalusia (Milledgeville, GA)
• Eugene O'Neill: Tao House (Martinez, CA)
• Mark Twain: Mark Twain House (Hartford, CT)
• Eudora Welty: Eudora Welty House (Jackson, MS)
• Edith Wharton: The Mount (Lenox, MA)
• Walt Whitman: Walt Whitman House (Camden, NJ)

You can learn more about the book, and see sample pages, on its website at The Library of America.

Also, if you like this kind of thing, you might want to check out Write Time, Write Place. The blog features contemporary authors on their writing spaces (with snapshots!) as well as quotes about the act of writing.

1. I forgot to note the page number. Will edit it in after I get my hands on the book again.
2. While I love the fact that his property currently has 60 cats in residence (per house website), I'm not crazy about the taxidermied fish on display.

Jules Verne

Apparently today is Jules Verne's 183rd birthday. I have to say that I wouldn't have known, if I hadn't seen the cool Verne-inspired interactive doodle on Google's homepage this morning. This PC Magazine article discusses the doodle. I have to admit that I spent some time finagling the controls in order to grab a screenshot that included the little hot air balloon (the above was the best I could do).

In any case, the doodle serves as a reminder that I've been wanting to read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Some readers will know that I am a bit of an ichthyophobic, but I always enjoyed the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride a Disneyland as a child and between Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Sarah Brightman's Dive album I've developed a fascination with Captain Nemo.

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood was on campus on Wednesday as part of the University's Distinguished Speakers Series.

I went to hear her speak and I have to say that it really wasn't what I expected. Atwood herself was funnier than I imagined. Her talk was on the short side and its topic was "questions people have asked me and their answers" so the whole program ended up being like one huge question-and-answer session.

What she chose to include in her talk was interesting, particularly her discussion of how the questions she's usually asked have changed over the years. She touched on her hair, feminism, speculative fiction, and hope. Her answer to the question of which of her characters is most like her is Zenia from The Robber Bride because she's a pathological liar who's able to spin tales appropriate to her audience.

The audience questions covered a variety of topics. Atwood was asked about her arctic vacations and whether she had any advice for graduate students. Individuals requested that she comment about one character or another and share her feelings about the film adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale (she wishes they'd release an original cut because the voice-over bits were cut out and, while she understood that they had to change the ending, she didn't think what they decided to do was logical).

When Atwood was asked which genre she prefers to write she answered that if she really and truly enjoyed one more than the others that'd be the only genre in which she'd write. She continued that the bit of writing that she finds most difficult is the book review. As a result she reviews infrequently and only books that she likes. She mentioned reviewing E.O. Wilson's first novel Anthill.

She was also asked which authors she always snaps up: Alice Munro and Hilary Mantel. She also threw in a plug for Yann Martel's new book, Beatrice and Virgil (forthcoming in April).

When asked about the impending death of the book (in the wake of e-readers), Atwood mentioned that she'd written a post on her blog detailing three reasons to keep paper books: solar storms, energy shortages, and internet overload.

Books that were mentioned in the program (ordered, more or less, from most-mentioned to least) were The Handmaid's Tale, The Year of the Flood (which we'd expected her to talk more about than she did), Oryx and Crake, The Robber Bride, and Alias Grace. Atwood mentioned her poetry, but generally.

Of course I can't mention everything here, but that was a taste of it.

Laurie Halse Anderson

One of my friends posted a link to an interesting New York Times blog post on FaceBook yesterday, The Troubling Allure of Eating Disorder Books. It uses Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson's newest YA novel, as a jumping off point.

I haven't read much of Laurie Halse Anderson's work, just Speak last year. I thought it was extremely compelling and wrote about it in this post.

Anyway, just wanted to share.

Kiran Desai!

This week Kiran Desai became the youngest woman to win the Man Booker Prize for The Inheritance of Loss.

Absolutely wonderful news!

And, even better, a perfect excuse to bump Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard to the top of my to-be-read pile!

Read the full press release.