Stephen Lovely's Blog

Just finished reading "Seven Years" a dark, sober novel by the Swiss writer Peter Stamm. The premise sounds ordinary, a man who betrays his wife with another woman, but the circumstances and the characters are described with such precision that everything becomes fresh and interesting. If you're a writer it's a brilliant example, I think, of how to manage time -- the story takes place over many, many years, but it's not a long book at all -- in a compressed way, and how to create the feel of real life, with work and vacations and children and disasters and triumphs, around the core of the narrative. I'm reading it again, and it's astonishing to realize how nearly every sentence contributes to the larger purpose. The characters, especially the husband's homely and religiously devout Polish immigrant lover, are haunting.

A few days ago I finished reading The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni. It's a magnificent, tender, and very funny debut novel. Sixteen year old Sebastian Prendergast has been raised by his grandmother in a geodesic dome in Eastern Iowa according to the principles of the futurist philosopher Buckminster Fuller. The House of Tomorrow is, to take a few pieces of a multi-faceted design, the story of an eccentric, isolated boy venturing out into the larger dome of our universe; a psychological study of how certain kinds of teenagers—intelligent, artistic, confined or disabled by circumstances—overcome their inhibitions and idiosyncrasies and forgive each others’ weirdness to obtain the comfort of close relationships; and a case for punk rock, and indeed any music that empowers discontented youth, as a sacred, adult-free space, a dome of noise, in which young men and women can bond and voice their dreams and frustrations. Also just tremendous fun to read.

Watch yours truly (the pale, pasty-faced author) in conversation with the magnificent Kecia Lynn. And dig those splashy Big Ten intro graphics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kJim9...

This is just to say I'm reading "The Possessed" by Elif Batuman, which is all about her love for Russian literature and her encounters with eccentrics who also do. She's smart and funny and makes striking observations right and left. I love it.

Hi Goodreaders,

If you'd be willing to pass the word on to your Goodreads friends about my debut novel, Irreplaceable, I'll register you to win a free copy of the paperback, just released. 3 winners, drawing February 19. Just send me a message in Goodreads with the subject "I gave you a boost." Thanks!

Also, if you'd like to read Irreplaceable with your book group, I'd be happy to visit, by phone or in person (if geography allows). Just let me know!

Best,

Stephen

Irreplaceable

www.stephenlovely.com

Hi everyone!

My debut novel, Irreplaceable, has just been released in paperback. I hope you'll read it, and that if you do, you'll enjoy it! Maybe even recommend it to a friend...

If you'd like to read Irreplaceable with your book group, and you'd like me to visit via phone, or in person if geography allows, just let me know!

Thanks,

Stephen

www.stephenlovely.com