David Abrams's Blog, page 47

Friday Freebie: Guapa by Saleem Haddad and The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Congratulations to Jodi Paloni , winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh.

This week’s contest is for two of the best and most important political novels of recent years: Guapa by Saleem Haddad and The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. I have a copy of each book to give away to one lucky reader; Guapa is a trade paperback and The Sympathizer is a hardcover. Read on for more information about the novels, including their terrific opening lines...

The m...

A Lot of Fighting and F*cking: The North Water by Ian McGuire

The North Water
by Ian McGuire
Review by Bryan Kemler

Last week, a routine phone conversation with my mother took a turn down a worn and familiar path.

“What are you reading?” she asked.

It is usually one of my favorite topics to talk about, but this time my heart sank.

“ The North Water ,” I admitted, feeling an odd sense of shame. I was afraid she may have even heard of it.

“I’ve heard of that one,” she said. “How is it?”

I suspected that she had me on speakerphone. Still, I could not help but...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Romeo and Juliet by David Hewson

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.




We’ve all heard the story: Boy meets Girl, they fall in love, their parents object, Boy and Girl get married anyway, Boy is banished from town, Girl pretends to kill herself in order to join Boy, Boy doesn’t get the memo and thinks Girl is really dead, Boy kills himself, Girl wakes up and finds her dead lover, Girl kills herself. The End. Unhappily Ever After. For those of you...

My First Time: Kris D’Agostino

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 Kris D’Agostino, author of the novels The Antiques (now out from Simon and Schuster) and The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac . Kris holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and lives in Brooklyn. On a purely personal note, I had the privilege of...

Sunday Sentence: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.


I thought perhaps she was disappointed in me, but then I regarded her smile, the fashion in which she held her chin low, looking up at me with those gavehee eyes, and as she took my hand and led me back down the corridor to her room, my heart was a flat stone moving over water and my breath was held like the boy counting the skips of his good fortune.

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus...

Friday Freebie: Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

Congratulations to Madeline Rombes, winner of the previous Friday Freebie: Always Happy Hour by Mary Miller.

This week’s contest is for another new collection of short stories, Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh. One lucky reader will win a brand-new hardback edition of the book which Kirkus calls “A smartly turned and admirably consistent collection about love and its discontents.” Keep reading for more information about Homesick for Another World.

Ottessa Moshfegh’s debut novel...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Kill the Next One by Federico Axat

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.




Not too long ago, I mentioned Kill the Next One in the monthly Front Porch Books  feature. I wrote “If you want to know why Frederico Axat’s psychological thriller shot right to the top of my must-read pile for 2016, you need look no further than the opening lines.” And those first sentences? See if you aren’t hooked, too:

     Ted McKay was about to put a b...

My First Time: Leigh Anne Kranz

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 Leigh Anne Kranz, author of “Orca Culture” in the short story anthology  City of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales edited by Gigi Little, now out from Forest Avenue Press. Leigh Anne lives in Portland, Oregon, and is writing a novel. (If you’d li...

Sunday Sentence: Collected Poems of Frank Stanford

Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.


               My face is cold
               As a snow that wakes up a statue

“The Hearse on the Other Side of the Canvas” from
What About This: Collected Poems of Frank Stanford

Friday Freebie: Always Happy Hour by Mary Miller

Congratulations to Theresa Snyder, winner of the previous Friday Freebie for the Big Box of Penguin Classics.

This week’s contest is for the new collection of short stories by Mary Miller, Always Happy Hour . I have a new hardcover copy to give away to one lucky reader. Will it be you? Keep reading for more information from the publisher about the book...

Combining hard-edged prose and savage Southern charm, Mary Miller showcases biting contemporary talent at its best. Fast on the heels of her...