Jonathan’s Comments (group member since Mar 05, 2009)

Jonathan’s comments from the fiction files redux group.

Shel wrote: "I'm with Patty here. On all of it. I think we read Everyman and while I tried really hard to get into it... I really did... eh. It was OK but honestly what I remember most is his terri..."

everyman was terrible . . . this is where roth jumped the shark in my opinion . . .

oh, i don't know, i think one can make a strong argument that volman's books (or anyone else's) might be better if he spent more time rewriting them and less time grinding out new ones . . . he has said point blank he doesn't think he even needs an editor, which is one of the most ridiculous claims i've ever heard from a writer . . . i don't know, just not a fan, i guess . . .

. . .yeah, all three of those books read as stand-alones . . . AP gets better and better--i'll look forward to your thoughts . . .

. . .happy birthday marge, and martyn, too! . . . congrats, too, neil! . . . i'll look for o'conner's comic in 2037 (ha! inside joke) . . .

. . .oh god, please don't give volman a nobel . . . they ought to give his poor down-trodden editor paul slovak a nobel peace prize for enduring volman . . . rifles had its moments, and i've read some other stuff that was okay, but c'mon, europe central? please . . . if the guy would cut his output by 90% he might be great . . . and they're never gonna' give a nobel to roth-- the last few books certainly aren't helping his cause . . .man, am i grumpy today, or what?

. . . the guy can write like hell, no doubt . . .but what bugs the fuck out of me is that he just covering the same old ground american white males writers have been covering for sixty years-- yates, cheever, o'connel, updike, etc . . . i think that's incredibly weak . . . his first book, 27th city, showed a little ambition theme-wise, but in the last 20 odd years it's just the same suburban dysfunction "realism" that puts me to sleep . . . i can relate to picoult's lament-- the industry has totally ghetto-ized women in fiction, although the argument would be much more persuasive coming from, say, l. moore or alice hoffman . . .

. . . wasn't me, i was in denver (still am) for a book conference . . .but i do hang out at doc's now and them--usually out on the lawn . . . for future reference, if you see me, for god's sake, introduce yourself . . .and dude, strip clubs? really? oh, brother . . . having known a few strippers, i know it kinda' creeps them out when dudes want to get to know them personally . . . kinda' serial killer-ish--a more fitting pastime for the old (read: drunk and totally insane) ewwa from fiction files past, not the new sane buttoned down mike we're coming to know around here . . . find yourself a nice church girl . . .

. . . you might start near the beginning with goodbye, columbus or portnoy's complaint, but truly roth's sweet spot is in the 90s-- sabbath's theater, the human stain, and american pastoral are his greatest works for my money . . . if i had to pick one roth book, it would certainly be american pastoral . . . you don't need any background on nathan zuckerman to get the full force of the masterpiece--and it IS a masterpiece--one of the best 10 or 15 novels i've ever read . . .

. . . oh, trust me, i was going to tell you-- you're the only person i know within a hundred miles-- just waiting for an exact date . . . and yes, bookpeople . . .

. . . hooray, welcome back ewwa! . . . even on a bad day, you were a good provocateur! glad to hear your voice again, and loved the story about how you found your way back!

. . . i e-mailed DL a couple months ago, and he was doing a project with marvel comics . . . i'm gonna' try to talk him in to driving up to austin when i'm there in late february . . .

. . .hahahaha! so timely in light of the jodi picoult/jonathan franzen controversy! i gotta' repost this on FB . . .

. . . so glad you're enjoying . . . just found out it got a starred review in october's library journal! . . . keeping my fingers crossed for publishers weekly, although i hear it's tough to get starred for two consecutive books . . .

. . . i'm reading stewart o'nan's "emily alone," which comes out next march . . . very much a character portrait, nothing mechanical really moving the story, o'nan is just really good at putting you inside the skin of a character and seeing how they live . . .

. . . all of her points are valid . . . i've seen some great female writer friends pigeon-holed by covers in the exact way she describes . . . the cover for tatijana soli's the lotus eaters (a gritty viet nam novel) looked like a chick-lit title . . . maria semple's darkly hilarious debut got a pink bon bon on the cover or something . . . i feel damn lucky to have had the two covers i've had for my books . . . and let's just talk about how generally bad book designers are-- compared to say, the folks doing indie rock covers, etc . . . dogs, horses, elephants, lampshades . . . i feel like 80% of jacket designs suck . . .

. . .i've had my subtle little soul-patch for 20 years! . . .unlike biily bob, i keep mine in check . . .

. . . thanks, patty . . .if this is true, it probably won't be true for long, as my looks are going the way of the moho interior . . .

. . .you are too funny, ad!

. . .ha!!!!

. . . okay, i'm pretty sure the old guy's name was "art" but i could be wrong . . . ewok was a different guy-- he was drinking something stronger than black coffee or tommy bahama . . .also, i think ewok had a split-personality disorder . . .