An Arsonist`s Guide to Writers` Homes in New England, Clarke, Brock

Автор: Clarke Brock
Название: I, Grape; Or the Case for Fiction: Essays
ISBN: 194672436X ISBN-13(EAN): 9781946724366
Издательство: Неизвестно
Рейтинг:
Цена: 18480.00 T
Наличие на складе: Поставка под заказ.
Описание: In fifteen sharply engaging essays, acclaimed novelist and short story writer Brock Clarke examines the art (and artifice) of fiction from unpredictable, entertaining, and often personal angles, positing through a slant scrutiny of place, voice, and syntax what fiction can--and can't--do. ("Very: is there a weaker, sadder, more futile word in the English language?")

Clarke supports his case with passages by and about writers who have both influenced and irritated him. Pieces such as "What the Cold Can Teach Us," "The Case for Meanness," "Why Good Literature Makes Us Bad People," and "The Novel is Dead; Long Live the Novel" celebrate the achievements of master practitioners such as Muriel Spark, Joy Williams, Donald Barthelme, Flannery O'Connor, Paul Beatty, George Saunders, John Cheever, and Colson Whitehead. Of particular interest to Clarke is the contentious divide between fiction and memoir, which he investigates using recent and relevant critical arguments, also tackling ancillary forms such as "fictional memoir" and the autobiographical novel.

Anecdotal and unabashed, rigorous and piercingly perceptive--not to mention flat-out funny--I, Grape; or The Case for Fiction is a love letter to and a passionate defense of the discipline to which its author has devoted his life and mind. It is also an attempt to eff the ineffable: "That is one of the basic tenets of this book: when we write fiction, surprising things sometimes happen, especially when fiction writers take advantage of their chosen form's contrarian ability to surprise."

Автор: Clarke Brock
Название: Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe?
ISBN: 164375078X ISBN-13(EAN): 9781643750781
Издательство: Неизвестно
Цена: 14670.00 T
Наличие на складе: Невозможна поставка.
Описание: "A story in which anything and everything can happen, and mostly does. This is a book of many trips--across oceans, back to the past, and, most profoundly, into the infinite deep space of the human heart. Brock Clarke has given us a wonderful novel that bursts with all the meaty stuff of real life." --Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Calvin Bledsoe's journey begins with the death of his mother. An internationally known theologian and an expert on all things John Calvin, she had been the dominant force in her son's existence, so much so that he never left home--even when he married--and, as a result, never grew up.

At his mother's funeral, Calvin is introduced to his aunt Beatrice, a woman he had not even known existed. Beatrice immediately makes it clear to Calvin that she is now in charge of his life, and the first thing she is going to do is whisk him off to Europe with her for a grand adventure.

As Calvin and his aunt traverse the continent, it becomes apparent that her clandestine behavior is leading him into danger. Facing a menagerie of antiquities thieves, secret agents, religious fanatics, and an ex-wife who is stalking him, Calvin begins to suspect there might be some meaning behind the madness. Maybe he's not the person he thought he was? Perhaps no one is ever who they appear to be? But there's little time for soul-searching, as Calvin first has to figure out why he has been kidnapped, why his aunt has disappeared, and who the hell burned down his house in Maine.

Powered by pitch-perfect dialogue, lovable characters, and surprising optimism, Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? is a modern-day take on Graham Greene's classic Travels with My Aunt, a novel about grabbing life, and holding on--wherever it may take you.

Автор: Clarke Brock
Название: Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe?
ISBN: 161620821X ISBN-13(EAN): 9781616208219
Издательство: Неизвестно
Цена: 24780.00 T
Наличие на складе: Невозможна поставка.
Описание: "A wild ride of a book . . . A story in which anything and everything can happen, and mostly does. This is a book of many trips--across oceans, back to the past, and, most profoundly, into the infinite deep space of the human heart. Brock Clarke has given us a wonderful novel that bursts with all the meaty stuff of real life." --Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

With the comic unpredictability of a Wes Anderson movie and the inventive sharpness of a John Irving novel, author Brock Clarke introduces readers to an ordinary man who is about to embark on an absurdly extraordinary adventure.

After his mother, a theologian and bestselling author, dies in a fiery explosion, forty-nine-year-old Calvin Bledsoe's heretofore uninspired life is upended. A stranger shows up at the funeral, claiming to be Calvin's aunt Beatrice, and insists that Calvin accompany her on a trip to Europe, immediately.

As he and Beatrice traverse the continent, it quickly becomes apparent that his aunt's clandestine behavior is leading him into danger. Facing a comic menagerie of antiquities thieves, secret agents, religious fanatics, and an ex-wife who's stalking him, Calvin begins to suspect there might be some meaning behind the madness. Maybe he's not the person he thought he was? Perhaps no one is who they appear to be? But there's little time for soul-searching, as Calvin first has to figure out why he has been kidnapped, why his aunt disappeared, and who the hell burned down his house. Powered by pitch-perfect dialogue, lovable characters, and surprising optimism, Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? is a modern-day Travels with My Aunt, a novel about grabbing life, and holding on--wherever it may take you.