Black Is The New Blood

I’m working on a response to the New York Times somewhat lame list of the best fiction of the last 25 years. I’lll probably have it ready sometime tomorrow.

Gideon Lewis-Kraus reviews Colson Whitehead’s Apex Hides The Hurt, which I picked up yesterday. I have yet to read Whitehead’s first book, The Intuitionist, but his second, John Hnery Days, blew me away. I’m looking forward to this.

This needs to see a DVD release.

I stayed up the better part of last night, just so I could finish David Mitchell’s astonishing Black Swan Green. I’m now seventy-five percent through Mitchell’s oeuvre (still have yet to read Number9Dream…it’s coming soon). There are two things to note about this guy. First, Mitchell is fairly prolific (this is his fourth book in under six years….and we’re talking quality stuff here). Good news for eager readers. Second, I don’t think there is anything David Mitchell can’t do. His last book, the mesmerizing Booker-nominated Cloud Atlas, had an epic scope, spanning centuries and many narrative voices. Black Swan Green’s focus is much simpler, looking at 13 months of a 13 year-old-boy’s life in 13 chapters.

Fiction writing doesn’t get much better than this. Mitchell’s prose is so perfectly tuned, you’ll want to live in his imaginary worlds for weeks. One big problem I have with contemporary fiction is that so much of it is emphemeral. A lot of the stuff I read, I couldn’t even tell you about two days later. I’m still thinking about Cloud Atlas, which I finished back around Christmas. I’m still thinking about Ghostwritten, which I finished at around 8:40 in the morning on September 11, 2001. I’m sure Black Swan Green will still be swimming around my head for a long time too.

Take my advice. Read him now. Someday, David Mitchell will considered one of the few cornerstones of literature in this century.

Dear Mr. Pynchon is a blog devoted to reading and responding to a page a day of Gravity’s Rainbow.

I don’t really keep up with the usual summer fare. Blockbusters just aren’t my thing. That said, Monster House looks pretty damn cool. View the trailer here.

Ali Smith reviews Black Swan Green in The Telegraph.

My review is coming soon.

Murakami’s short story, “On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning,” has been beautifully illustrated.

Rappers Delight Club uses a Sufjan Stevens song as it’s backing track on “First Ladies Anthem…” (Second song on the page). Too bad they are unsigned.

Culture Bully links to the new Outkast single, “The Mighty-O.” Get it while it’s still there.

Frank Miller does the cover of the new ‘Deluxe’ edition of Gravity’s Rainbow

Ed Champion’s Return Of The Reluctant links to a two-part audio interview with David Mitchell.

It has to be Finnegans wake. Now there is a Wiki.

Wordpress and Greasemonkey don’t exactly work well together.

Prince is streaming his new video.