by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 12, 2009 | first novels, reviews |
At the beginning of The Vagrants, the first novel by Yiyun Li, one at a time, each of the main characters comes into contact with one of the notices being posted all over the Chinese town of Muddy Waters announcing the execution and denunciation of a...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Apr 2, 2009 | Columbus GA, first novels, place |
“The first days of April were windy and warm. White clouds trailed across the blue sky. In the wind there was the smell of the river and also the fresher smell of fields beyond the town.” from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Carson...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 3, 2008 | first novels, reviews |
How do you tell a story? First sentence: “The man arrived after morning prayers.” The first paragraph goes on to paint the scene of that morning. “The man waited, and the boys watched…” The second paragraph drops back to explain: ...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 24, 2008 | first novels, reviews |
In July, I read Arlington Park and discovered a writer new to me–Rachel Cusk. She was born in Canada in 1967, grew up in Los Angeles, and now lives in England. Arlington Park is her most recent novel. Although I thought it was slightly brusque in its movement...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 10, 2008 | first novels |
The short list for the Booker Prize was announced yesterday. Six novels were chosen from the long list of thirteen. Of the six, two are first novels! Only one was written by a woman. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet read any of these. The short list is as...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 4, 2008 | first novels |
In The Writing Life, Annie Dillard writes of schedules as nets for “catching days.” She says, “I have been looking into schedules.” Then she describes the schedule of a Danish aristocrat living a hundred years ago, who started his day by...
