Books for Writers: The Day I Left

     How are you going to get them back on the farm after they've seen Pau? It ain't easy, as it turns out, and they won't come back the same. Some of them, like Jarrod Nelson (the protagonist) of Jason Korolenko's book The Day I Left, are scarcely recognizable.
     Nelson, a young American studying abroad in France, is a man haunted by happenings, real and imagined. Worse, he can't tell the difference between the events with molecules and the ones that only occur in his head. And, thanks to Korolenko's use of POV, the reader can't really tell either. Who done it?, who was it done to?, and what's with the dead baby? are questions that will leave the reader wondering until the end.
     The Day I Left is a clean read, especially for an indie. I think I spotted two typos, but then I couldn't find them again, making me wonder if Jarrod wasn't rubbing off on me.
     The book kept me entertained and curious through five nights of pre-bed reading, and it will likely do the same for you. Korolenko is a talent to be reckoned with, and I look forward to reading more, much more by this author.
     The Day I Left is free to a good Kindle this week on Amazon.

Books for Writers: Super Sad True Shteyngart

-->             Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story  (SSTLS) is equal parts satire and social prophesy.

The author, a scant year younger than me and a native of Russian, has created an American dystopia that feels like it's only days away. Our hero, Lenny Abramov, is one of the few readers left in a post-literate age and chronicles his life in what may be the last diary in the world. Lenny is well-off – he sells life-extension plans to the wealthy – but he's at least two large, social steps behind his media-savvy friends who broadcast their every move and interaction for the at-home audience.

Books for Writers: "Funeral Makers" fakes you out

          Doug Limon, the movie director who made The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, is making a film version of The Funeral Makers, working from a screenplay written by the book's author, Cathie Pelletier. That's the “Recent Film and Book News” from KCMckinnon.com, a website Pelletier keeps up for one of her pen names.

I wish Pelletier lots of luck and residuals but will likely never see the film. Reason one is that filmmakers never do a good job on Maine (or Boston) accents, and their attempts make me groan loudly. Reason two is my belief that a film, even one authored by Pelletier herself, will not do The Funeral Makers justice.