Check out a recent essay on Haruki Murakami by Lowry Pei. From Stewart:
When I was looking at models for The Circus Fire, I studied Murakami’s nonfiction account of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, Underground.
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Category Archives: What to Read
TribLive and The Week
Two links of interest in TribLive and The Week:
Fitzgerald fascination: Stewart O’Nan book, new biographies, film projects focus on F. Scott
O’Nan says “every journalist wanted to take me to a Red Lobster” when that novel was published in 2007, so his wife suggested he seek out more glamorous material.
“What do I know from glamour? I’m from Pittsburgh,” he says. “But American glamour is Fitzgerald on the Riviera. American glamour is Greta Garbo. So what if I look at one of the most romantic places in American history (Hollywood in the late 1930s) through the eyes of our greatest romantic. If I can’t make that glamorous, I’m not trying.”
The novelist recommends works by Joanna Scott, Robert Coover, and more
Book Fight – Episode 18: Theodore Weesner, The True Detective
Check out the podcast featuring Theodore Weesner’s The True Detective at Book Fight:
We welcome special guest Stewart O’Nan, author of The Odds, Last Night at the Lobster, A Prayer for the Dying, and many, many more, to discuss a book he calls “a great American novel no one has read.” Theodore Weesner’s The True Detective tells the story of a child’s abduction from multiple perspectives: the family of the victim, the kidnapper, and the detective attempting to break the case. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill procedural; instead the book seeks to mine the the complicated emotional terrain of its characters, exploring how they’re affected by this web of tragedy.
Emily in Kansas City Star’s Top 100; Essay in NPR Books
Emily, Alone was also named as one of the Star’s Top 100 Books of 2011:
In a sequel to “Wish You Were Here” (2003), O’Nan wonderfully captures hope and sadness as the aged Emily searches for meaning after her husband passes away.
And in case you missed it, NPR Books is featuring an essay by Stewart:
Ode To The Dead: In Remembrance Of Characters Past
I first heard of Christie Hodgen way back in 2001, when I was a judge for the National Endowment for the Arts. Her story of a younger sister dealing with a troubled, possibly mentally ill brother flat knocked me out. The other judges on the panel agreed — here was a powerhouse writer. I felt privileged to read her work before the rest of the world, so why did it take me so long to discover her second novel, Elegies for the Brokenhearted, which came out last summer?
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Recommended Works – 9/1/2007
The Children’s Hospital – Chris Adrian
Harbor – Lorraine Adams
Candyfreak – Steve Almond
Articles of War – Nick Arvin
Natasha – David Bezmogis
The Works of Stewart O'Nan 