David Abrams's Blog, page 198
June 29, 2012
Friday Freebie: Gilded Age by Claire McMillan
Congratulations to Carol Wong, winner of last week's Friday Freebie. Carol will soon be enjoying the literary pleasures of The World Without You by Joshua Henkin and Menage by Alix Kates Shulman.
This week's book giveaway is
Gilded Age
by Claire McMillan. Here at the blog, I've already championed this novel--a contemporary take on Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth—a
couple
of
times
. Plus, you can read Claire's
guest post
in the
My First Time
series. What more can I say...
June 27, 2012
Blurbalicious
A writer writes a book in lonely, secret seclusion (at least I do--others may spend their over-caffeinated days sitting at the local coffee shop bogarting prime wi-fi territory, tapping noisy keyboards and pausing every three sentences to read their work aloud to unwilling captive audiences at the next table). We may show some pages to our lovers, our parents, or our friends--all of whom will say nice things about those words we've spent months and years toiling over, wrestling from our imagination. But we expect our mother to say our novel about a female dogwalker-turned-CIA-assassin is the Greatest Book She's Ever Read, right? What happens when we ask complete strangers to read our book and, if they're so moved, to say a few words on our behalf for publicity purposes?
What happens is, you find the world is full of kind, unselfish, generous people who are willing to risk their reputations on your behalf by publicly praising your debut novel. Suddenly, you're filled with gallons of self-confidence and joy.
At least, that's how I feel about those writers who've had such nice things to say about Fobbit , the Iraq War comedy I spent seven years writing in early-morning isolation in my basement with nothing but a cup of coffee and a stream of classical music from iTunes to keep me company. I can never thank the following authors enough for giving Fobbit such nice blurbs.
"Fobbit, an Iraq-war comedy, is that rarest of good things: the book you least expect, and most want. It is everything that terrible conflict was not: beautifully planned and perfectly executed; funny and smart and lyrical; a triumph. David Abrams has taken up Joe Heller's mantle--or not mantle; more like his Groucho nose and his whoopee cushion--and so his debut marks the arrival of a massive talent."
--Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life
"Stories in and around war rely on irony to convey this unnatural human behavior; but in this appalling comedy the indifference of participants not actually being shot at or blown up--their headlong pursuit of folly--raises the immorality of war to white heat. This delightful, readable, believable and useful book made me furious!"
--Thomas McGuane, author of Driving on the Rim
"Wavy Gravy once said, 'Without a sense of humor, it just isn’t funny.' Fobbit is hilarious, but the subject matter is deadly serious. The protagonist is a 'fobbit,' the term used by the grunts for the non-combatants ensconced inside well-protected forward operating bases, oases of junk food, air-conditioning, and all the comforts of home. But throughout the book, the fobbits are shadowed by the presence of the infantry who live in horrible conditions and are the smelly, dirty, haggard reminders that there is a real war going on just outside the gates. This is a remarkable book because it was written by a man who served as a member of an army public relations team in Iraq, i.e. a fobbit himself. It is the rare writer--indeed, the rare person--who can step outside of himself and see with cold clarity the humor and pathos of his situation and then bring the reader to the same understanding. David Abrams is such a writer."
--Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn
"With a gimlet eye and humor as dry as a desert sandstorm, Abrams captures the absurdist angle of the Iraq war. A direct counterpoint to hero-worshipping 'shoot 'em up' combat narratives, Fobbit proves that wit is as lethal a weapon as any Army-issue M16 or .50 cal."
---Lily Burana, author of I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles
"The first major work of fiction about America's war for Iraq."
--Aaron Gwyn, author of The World Beneath
"Fobbit is fast, razor sharp, and seven kinds of hilarious. Thank you, Mr. Abrams, for the much needed salve--it feels good to finally laugh about Iraq. Fobbit deserves a place alongside Slaughterhouse Five and Catch-22 as one of our great comic novels about the absurdity of war."
--Jonathan Evison, author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
"A darkly funny chronicle of the Iraq War, Fobbit explores the modern military machine with searing resolve. Contemporary warfare is often as absurd as it is ugly, a truth that gives Fobbit and its unforgettable cast of characters both depth and nuance. This is a book that speaks to the power of fiction--a war story too profane and profound for the newspapers and the nightly news. Want to think, laugh and cry, all at the same time? Read this novel."
--Matt Gallagher, author of Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War
"Fobbit should be required reading for America. Hilarious and tragic, it’s as if Louis C.K. and Lewis Black provided commentary to The Hurt Locker. I read the novel mesmerized, and found myself thinking 'Please tell me none of this is autobiographical' on just about every page. There will be innumerable comparisons to Catch-22, but Fobbit, believe me, stands on its own. Thank you, David Abrams, for your vision, heart, and daring."
--George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie
"Fobbit is a searing view of life on a Forward Operating Base in Iraq and the constant contradictions faced by U.S. soldiers who are told to kick down a door one minute and win ‘hearts and minds’ the next. Funny and evocative, with great glimpses of soldier-speak and deployment day-to-day life, each laugh in the novel is accompanied with a troubling insight into the different types of battles that our soldiers encounter on a non-traditional battlefield."
--Siobhan Fallon, author of You Know When the Men Are Gone
What happens is, you find the world is full of kind, unselfish, generous people who are willing to risk their reputations on your behalf by publicly praising your debut novel. Suddenly, you're filled with gallons of self-confidence and joy.
At least, that's how I feel about those writers who've had such nice things to say about Fobbit , the Iraq War comedy I spent seven years writing in early-morning isolation in my basement with nothing but a cup of coffee and a stream of classical music from iTunes to keep me company. I can never thank the following authors enough for giving Fobbit such nice blurbs.
"Fobbit, an Iraq-war comedy, is that rarest of good things: the book you least expect, and most want. It is everything that terrible conflict was not: beautifully planned and perfectly executed; funny and smart and lyrical; a triumph. David Abrams has taken up Joe Heller's mantle--or not mantle; more like his Groucho nose and his whoopee cushion--and so his debut marks the arrival of a massive talent."
--Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life
"Stories in and around war rely on irony to convey this unnatural human behavior; but in this appalling comedy the indifference of participants not actually being shot at or blown up--their headlong pursuit of folly--raises the immorality of war to white heat. This delightful, readable, believable and useful book made me furious!"
--Thomas McGuane, author of Driving on the Rim
"Wavy Gravy once said, 'Without a sense of humor, it just isn’t funny.' Fobbit is hilarious, but the subject matter is deadly serious. The protagonist is a 'fobbit,' the term used by the grunts for the non-combatants ensconced inside well-protected forward operating bases, oases of junk food, air-conditioning, and all the comforts of home. But throughout the book, the fobbits are shadowed by the presence of the infantry who live in horrible conditions and are the smelly, dirty, haggard reminders that there is a real war going on just outside the gates. This is a remarkable book because it was written by a man who served as a member of an army public relations team in Iraq, i.e. a fobbit himself. It is the rare writer--indeed, the rare person--who can step outside of himself and see with cold clarity the humor and pathos of his situation and then bring the reader to the same understanding. David Abrams is such a writer."
--Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn
"With a gimlet eye and humor as dry as a desert sandstorm, Abrams captures the absurdist angle of the Iraq war. A direct counterpoint to hero-worshipping 'shoot 'em up' combat narratives, Fobbit proves that wit is as lethal a weapon as any Army-issue M16 or .50 cal."
---Lily Burana, author of I Love a Man in Uniform: A Memoir of Love, War, and Other Battles
"The first major work of fiction about America's war for Iraq."
--Aaron Gwyn, author of The World Beneath
"Fobbit is fast, razor sharp, and seven kinds of hilarious. Thank you, Mr. Abrams, for the much needed salve--it feels good to finally laugh about Iraq. Fobbit deserves a place alongside Slaughterhouse Five and Catch-22 as one of our great comic novels about the absurdity of war."
--Jonathan Evison, author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
"A darkly funny chronicle of the Iraq War, Fobbit explores the modern military machine with searing resolve. Contemporary warfare is often as absurd as it is ugly, a truth that gives Fobbit and its unforgettable cast of characters both depth and nuance. This is a book that speaks to the power of fiction--a war story too profane and profound for the newspapers and the nightly news. Want to think, laugh and cry, all at the same time? Read this novel."
--Matt Gallagher, author of Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War
"Fobbit should be required reading for America. Hilarious and tragic, it’s as if Louis C.K. and Lewis Black provided commentary to The Hurt Locker. I read the novel mesmerized, and found myself thinking 'Please tell me none of this is autobiographical' on just about every page. There will be innumerable comparisons to Catch-22, but Fobbit, believe me, stands on its own. Thank you, David Abrams, for your vision, heart, and daring."
--George Singleton, author of The Half-Mammals of Dixie
"Fobbit is a searing view of life on a Forward Operating Base in Iraq and the constant contradictions faced by U.S. soldiers who are told to kick down a door one minute and win ‘hearts and minds’ the next. Funny and evocative, with great glimpses of soldier-speak and deployment day-to-day life, each laugh in the novel is accompanied with a troubling insight into the different types of battles that our soldiers encounter on a non-traditional battlefield."
--Siobhan Fallon, author of You Know When the Men Are Gone
June 26, 2012
Flash Fiction: 79-word "Squirrels"
Today, I got up at 3:30 a.m., microwaved a cup of coffee, then went downstairs and wrote three short stories.
I'm not bragging, just stating the facts.
Would it make a difference if I told you those three stories were each 79 words long? And would you believe me if I told you I agonized over those 79 words as much as--maybe even more than--a 7,900-word story?
I wrote the three stories in preparation for entering Esquire magazine's current fiction contest in which all stories are lim...
June 25, 2012
My First Time: Claire McMillan
My First Time
is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands. Today’s guest is Claire McMillan, author of
Gilded Age
, which has just been released by Simon and Schuster. The novel takes Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth and recasts it in contemporary Cleveland. Library Journal wrote: "McMillan cleverly uses Wharton’s cl...
June 22, 2012
Friday Freebie: The World Without You by Joshua Henkin and Menage by Alix Kates Shulman
Congratulations to Michael McClure, winner of last week's Friday Freebie contest. Michael will soon be enjoying Half In Shade: Family, Photography, and Fate by Judith Kitchen and Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale.
This week's book giveaway is another double-header: The World Without You by Joshua Henkin and Menage by Alix Kates Shulman. Both are novels about the disruption and potential disintegration of families, and both are high...
June 21, 2012
Front Porch Books: June 2012 Edition
Front Porch Books is a monthly tally of books--mainly advance review copies (aka "uncorrected proofs" and "galleys")--I've received from publishers, but also sprinkled with packages from Book Mooch, Amazon and other sources. Because my dear friends, Mr. FedEx and Mrs. UPS, leave them with a doorbell-and-dash method of delivery, I call them my Front Porch Books. In this digital age, ARCs are also beamed to the doorstep of my Kindle via NetGalley and Edelweiss. Note: most of these books won't b...
June 20, 2012
Judging a Book: New P. G. Wodehouse covers from W. W. Norton
Introducing a new, occasional feature here at The Quivering Pen called "Judging a Book," in which I put a little cover-design eye candy on display. Before I begin, however, I'll admit I just spent the better part of 30 minutes trying to track down the origin of the phrase "You can't judge a book by its cover." Some sources say it came from a 1946 murder mystery by Edwin Rolfe and Lester Fuller called Murder in the Glass Room, in which a character says, "you can never tel...
June 19, 2012
Trailer Park Tuesday: Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall
Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday , a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies. Unless their last name is Grisham or King, authors will probably never see their trailers on the big screen at the local cineplex. And that's a shame because a lot of hard work goes into producing these short marriages between book and video. So, if you like what you see, please spread the word and help these videos go viral.
By the end of the 70-second trail...
June 18, 2012
My First Time: Pauls Toutonghi
My First Time is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands. Today’s guest is Pauls Toutonghi, author of the forthcoming novel Evel Knievel Days . His writing has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Zoetrope: All-Story, The Boston Review, Five Chapters , One Story, Sports Illustrated, Book Magazine, and numerous...
June 17, 2012
Father's Day: A Triptych
September 22, 1984: The air in the room is heavy, suffocating, moist. We are on the second floor of a 100-year-old house near downtown Eugene, Oregon. There is a small wooden sign on the patch of lawn in front of the building: Lucinia Birth Home. We've been here all through the night, pacing, murmuring, moaning. The room is dim in the pre-dawn hours. There is a single lamp lit with a small bulb somewhere in a corner of the room. It's like we're cave explore...
