Adams, W. A. (2007). Innate Intersubjectivity and the Science of Mind-Reading [Review of the book, On Being Moved: From Mirror Neurons to Empathy]. PsycCRITIQUES—Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, October 24, 2007, Vol. 52, Release 43, Article 2. Retrieved October 24, … Continue reading
A Mild Kidnap Kerrigan, Gene. (2005). Little Criminals. New York: Europa Editions This straightforward cops vs. baddies story mostly focuses on the criminal characters, a gang of Dublin lowlife men who kidnap the wife of a wealthy lawyer. The kidnappers are … Continue reading
The workshop I went to recently was called “advanced” because you needed product. You couldn’t walk in with just an idea or an outline. I went with 75,000 words, the ninth revision of a suspense novel. What I learned at this workshop was … Continue reading
A Gentle Crime Novel Abu-jaber, Diane. (2007). Origin. New York: W.W. Norton This novel is in the rarified category of “literary” crime novel, which means the characters are well-developed and the writing is above average (that’s the literary part) AND, it … Continue reading
Wink, Wink; Nudge, Nudge Nabokov, Vladimir (1989) Despair. New York: Vintage. Nabokov wrote this little doppelganger mystery in the 1930’s then revised it in English in the 1960’s. The first two thirds are very slow going, as the pompous, self-aware, first-person … Continue reading
Natural or Artificial? Implications for Science, Religion and Phenomenology [Review of the book, Creations of the Mind: Theories of Artifacts and Their Representation]. PsycCRITIQUES—Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, February 20, 2008, Vol. 53, Release 8, Article 4. Retrieved February … Continue reading
Against Sincerity To frame a discussion of literary vs genre in marketing terms encourages cynicism, because marketing pretends discourse while designed only to separate you from your money. So let’s forget about how the distinction between literary and genre is used … Continue reading
Writing For the Money Grisham, John (2002). The Summons. New York: Random House. A lawyer in Mississippi finds three million dollars in cash in his father’s house after the old man dies. The money is not mentioned in the will, and … Continue reading
Meaning in Each Grain of Sand Abe, Kobo. (1960-1962/1991). Woman in the Dunes. New York: Vintage. This novel is considered by many to be Abe’s best, and a prime example of mid-century Japanese fiction. It’s difficult to determine exactly when it was … Continue reading
A Moving Allegory Coetzee, John. M. (1999/2008). Disgrace. New York: Penguin, 220 pages. Written shortly after the end of apartheid in South Africa, the story tells of a professor who has sex with a student, and when the affair becomes public, … Continue reading