I have long been fascinated by the homes and haunts of writers — where they grew up, where they lived as adults, and especially where they wrote. This particular strain of the “gentle madness” has taken me to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, Mark Twain’s home, in Hartford, Connecticut, James Thurber’s boyhood home, in Columbus and one of my favorite places on earth, Thomas Jefferson’s experiment in architecture. So, I was pleased to see […]
Today in January Magazine’s non-fiction section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews Little Pink House by Jeff Benedict. Says Miller: It is often said that bad cases make for bad law, and the United States Supreme Court case of Kelo v. New London certainly contained a bad set of facts. Anxious to reverse the decay in New London, Connecticut, as well as neutralize political opponents, Governor John Rowland and his staff dsevised a massive urban renewal […]
Today in January Magazine’s biography section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews Books by Larry McMurtry. Says Miller: Larry McMurtry’s literary street cred needs no boost from anyone. The author of, most famously, The Last Picture Show, Lonesome Dove and Terms of Endearment has been pounding the keys of his typewriter for well over 40 years. Along the way, he’s stumbled into Hollywood, winning an Academy Award for his screenplay of E. Annie Proulx’s short story, […]
Today in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, Stephen Miller looks at Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland and The Fourth Man by K.O. Dahl. Says Miller: In the international world of crime fiction, it seems that Australia and Norway have been chronically underrepresented. Debut author Adrian Hyland seeks to correct the Australian oversight with his new tale, Moonlight Downs. Hyland’s heroine is Emily Tempest, a half-Aboriginal roustabout, who has returned home to Moonlight Downs, her tribal […]
Witold Rybczynski is one of my favorite writers about current trends in architecture and city life. While he is an architect by training and temperament, he’s also an astute commentator of how we live in a post-industrial digitized society. He contributes frequently to Slate magazine, and earlier this week, Slate posted a slide show and commentary from Rybczynski on the state of urban public libraries. The title of the piece, “How Do Your Build a […]
Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews Runoff by Mark Coggins. Says Miller: Runoff, Mark Coggins’ fourth novel to feature Bay Area private eye August Riordan, opens with one of the most original action sequences I’ve read. Waiting in his Galaxie 500 on a self-appointed stakeout, Riordan searches for the person or persons responsible for ripping off automated teller machines in downtown San Francisco. By that, I don’t mean they […]
Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews Die with Me by Elena Forbes. Says Miller: Forbes, a former investment banker, develops her story in much the same manner as the late Ed McBain did his 87th Precinct books…. First-time novelist Forbes propels this story forward expertly and deftly shifts her narrative to follow Tartaglia, Donovan, Steele and even, from time to time, the killer. It’s a bravura juggling act, difficult […]
From Critical Mass, the blog of the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors, comes word that Ross King (The Judgment of Paris, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling) is hard at work on another book on the never-exhausted subject (at least for me) of artists. King tells us his next major project is, “a study of Leonardo da Vinci’s last years in Milan – his paintings, inventions and writings. I’m a bit superstitious about saying […]
Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews The Secret Hangman by Peter Lovesey. Says Miller: At a time when British crime fiction seems tipped toward the noir edge of things, it is a treat to come across a classic puzzle story. Such is the reward in store for readers who delve into the ninth entry in the Inspector Peter Diamond series, The Secret Hangman. The full review is here.
Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Stephen Miller reviews Zoo Station by David Downing. Says Miller: You can’t and shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you simply cannot help yourself. Picture a grainy black-and-white photograph circa 1940 or so. Three women are in the foreground of the image, two of them in conversation and one standing off by herself. There’s a haze that prevents us from seeing what’s in […]
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