www.richardjespers.com
  • Home
  • Books
  • Journals
  • Blog

Egan's 'Candy House' Is Sweet

9/30/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
A WRITER'S WIT
Actually, I love trying to figure out why certain books become hits while others, which may be just as good, have trouble finding an audience.
​Jay Asher
Author of ​Thirteen Reasons Why
​Born September 30, 1975
Picture
J. Asher

My Book World

Picture
Egan, Jennifer. The Candy House: A Novel. New York: Scribner, 2022.

This nonlinear novel, similar to Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, is at once fascinating and thrilling, yet challenging to grasp—for me, anyway. As with a roller coaster ride, one must climb aboard and suffer whatever curves come your way. Her title seems to be derived from the following:

Nothing is free! Only children expect otherwise, even as myths and fairy tales warn us: Rumpelstiltskin, King Midas, Hansel and Gretel. Never trust a candy house (125).
​The narrative, which begins in 2010, ventures freely into the mid-2020s and back, centers around children born in the 1980s. One Bix Bouton—akin to a real life Steve Jobs—develops a technology he dubs Own Your Unconscious which, to borrow text from the dust jacket, “allows you to access every memory you’ve ever had, and to share your own in exchange for access to the memories of others.” Like Facebook, from a slightly earlier period, OYU seduces a large portion of the world’s population into its powers. Always be careful what you wish for, Egan’s title seems to caution us, because you might not like what you ultimately wind up with. This idea of knowing all of your thoughts is just like sighting a candy house. You won’t always be able to trust what you find inside.

Coming Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Heidi Hayes Jacob
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Peter Ackroyd

THURS: A Writer's Wit | Thor Heyerdahl
FRI: My Book World | Ann Patchett's ​The Dutch House

0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Elizabeth Gaskell

9/29/2022

0 Comments

 
A little credulity helps one on through life very smoothly.
​Elizabeth Gaskell
Author of ​Wives and Daughters
​Born September 29, 1810
Picture
E. Gaskell
Coming Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Heidi Hayes Jacob
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Peter Ackroyd

THURS: A Writer's Wit | Thor Heyerdahl
FRI: My Book World | Ann Patchett's The Dutch House
0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Elmer Rice

9/28/2022

0 Comments

 
If nature had intended our skeletons to be visible it would have put them on the outside of our bodies.
​Elmer Rice
Playwright of ​The Adding Machine
​Born September 28, 1892
Picture
E. Rice
Coming Next:
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Elizabeth Gaskell
FRI: My Book World |Jennifer Egan's ​The Candy House
0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Myrtle Reed

9/27/2022

0 Comments

 
Penetrate deeply in the secret existence of anyone about you, even of the man or woman whom you count happiest, and you will come upon things they spend all their efforts to hide. Fair as the exterior may be, if you go in, you will find bare places, heaps of rubbish that can never be taken away, cold hearths, desolate altars, and windows veiled with cobwebs.
​Myrtle Reed
Author of Lavender and Old Lace
​Born September 27, 1874
Picture
M. Reed
Coming Next:
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Elmer Rice 

THURS: A Writer's Wit | Elizabeth Gaskell
FRI: My Book World | Jennifer Egan's ​The Candy House
0 Comments

Sedaris: Always a Carnival

9/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
A WRITER'S WIT
Propaganda is that branch of lying which often deceives your friends without ever deceiving your enemies.
​Walter Lippmann
Author of America Tomorrow: Creating the Great Society

​Born September 23, 1889
Picture
W. Lippmann

My Book World

Picture
​Sedaris, David. A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020). New York: Little, 2021.

Much like Sedaris’s first journal, this one contains a mixture of “Dear Diary” items along with jokes people tell him, along with long anecdotes about people he knows, along with a certain political polemic (which I love), and more, like overheard conversations in public places. If I were teaching creative writing, I would lift portions of both of Sedaris’s diaries to demonstrate how writers can mine their own diaries for topics or scenarios for other works.
 
In the early part of his first diary, Sedaris is a poor writer. In this one, he is somewhat more solvent and becoming more so all the time. Now, the man is so busy with readings and lectures, he’s always on a plane, and the airport world alone must offer up some of his richest observations. His dated entries from all around the world show a man who is interested in people, what makes them tick, what makes them say the things they do. Not that he always understands, but he is curious enough to record some of the ridiculous, confounding, or even wise things they say to him. Overheard conversations. How his day has gone, if he’s at home in one of two or three dwellings he owns in England or France. How the day has gone for his husband, Hugh. Jokes. Yes, plenty of jokes people take pride in telling him at one of his readings as he is signing books.

“A guy finds a genie who grants him three wishes, adding that everything the man gets, his wife will get double. ‘Great,’ the guy says, and he wishes for a big house. Then he wishes for a car. Finally, he says, ‘Okay, now I want you to beat me half to death” (211).
 
“It’s night, and a cop stops a car a couple of priests are riding in. ‘I’m looking for two child molesters,’ he says.
         The priests think for a moment. ‘We’ll do it!’ they say” (445).
Sedaris’s title is derived from this tidbit dated March 23, 2013, London: Frank and Scott went to an Indian restaurant the other night and took a picture of the menu, which offered what is called “a carnival of snackery” (289). Indeed, that’s what this book is, and the delightful thing is it doesn’t cost you one calorie to consume!

Coming Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Myrtle Reed
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Elmer Rice

THURS: A Writer's Wit | Elizabeth Gaskell
FRI: My Book World | Jennifer Egan's The Candy House
0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: David Riesman

9/22/2022

0 Comments

 
The idea that men [sic] are created free and equal is both true and misleading: men are created different; they lose their social freedom and their individual autonomy in seeking to become like each other.
​David Riesman
​Author of The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character
​Born September 22, 1909
Picture
D. Riesman
Coming Next:
TOMORROW: My Book World | David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)
TUES: AWW | Myrtle Reed
WEDS: AWW | Elmer Rice

THURS: AWW |Elizabeth Gaskell
0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Janet Burroway

9/21/2022

0 Comments

 
Most writing is done between the mind and the hand, not between the hand and the page.
​Janet Burroway
Author of 
Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft
​Born September 21, 1936
Picture
J. Burroway
Coming Next:
THURS: AWW | David Riesman
FRI: My Book World | David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)
0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Elise Broach

9/20/2022

0 Comments

 
Mysteries always have the potential for interesting connections between the elements. I'm also most interested in the relationship between the characters. As in Masterpiece, I'm trying to create characters who not only are solving a mystery but are solving the riddle of their own personal relationships.
​Elise Broach
Author of ​The Miniature World of Marvin and James
​Born September 20, 1963
Coming Next:
WEDS: AWW | Janet Burroway

THURS: AWW | David Riesman
FRI: My Book World | David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)
Picture
E. Broach
0 Comments

Announcing Staycation

9/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Since the beginning of the Covid Crisis, as I prefer to call it, Ken and I have not traveled much. It's difficult to "vacation" in your usual surroundings because chores still have to be done. So for the next two weeks we will be daytripping to various sites in our own area: Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, and assorted other venues such small town museums and rural cemeteries for photography ops. At least these are what we propose to do. At any rate, I will post again beginning Tuesday, September 20. See you then!
0 Comments

'Homesickness' Yields Great Stories

9/2/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
A WRITER'S WIT
A “good” family, it seems, is one that used to be better.
​Cleveland Amory
Author of ​The Best Cat Ever
​Born September 2, 1917
Picture
C. Amory

My Book World

Picture
Barrett, Colin. Homesickness: Stories. New York: Grove, 2022.

This collection contains ten phenomenal stories, mostly set in Ireland. From one about a man who shoots someone in self-defense to a forty-pager about a professional soccer (futbol) player deciding what to do with his life once his career is over, these stories are vibrant with life. What do I mean? They reveal real people in real situations, often ending quietly, with barely a whimper—like most events in our own lives. Yet we recall such situations over and over again with great delight.

Coming Next:
9/20 TUES: AWW | Elise Broach
9/21 WEDS: AWW | Janet Burroway

9/22 THURS: AWW | David Riesman
9/23 FRI: My Book World | David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)


0 Comments

A Writer's Wit: Jesse Kellerman

9/1/2022

0 Comments

 
It's much easier to identify and fix problems in language and timing when you hear the words being read. 
​Jesse Kellerman
Author of The Golem of Paris
​Born September 1, 1978
Picture
J. Kellerman
Coming Next:
9/20 TUES: AWW | Elise Broach
9/21 WEDS: AWW | Janet Burroway

9/22 THURS: AWW | David Riesman
9/23 FRI: My Book World | David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)
0 Comments
    AUTHOR
    Richard Jespers is a writer living in Lubbock, Texas, USA.

    See my profile at Author Central:
    http://amazon.com/author/rjespers


    Richard Jespers's books on Goodreads
    My Long-Playing Records My Long-Playing Records
    ratings: 1 (avg rating 5.00)


    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011



    Categories

    All
    Acting
    Actors
    African American History
    Aging
    Alabama
    Alaska
    Aldo Leopold
    Andy Warhol
    Arizona
    Arkansas
    Art
    Atrial Fibrillation
    Authors
    Authors' Words
    Barcelona
    Biography
    Blogging About Books
    Blogs
    Books
    California
    Cancer
    Cars
    Catalonia
    Colorado
    Cooking
    Creative Nonfiction
    Culinary Arts
    Deleting Facebook
    Ecology
    Education
    Environment
    Epigraphs
    Essays
    Feminism
    Fiction
    Fifty States
    Film
    Florida
    Georgia
    Grammar
    Greece
    Gun Violence
    Hawaii
    Heart Health
    Historic Postcards
    History
    Humor
    Idaho
    Iowa
    Journalism
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Literary Biography
    Literary Journals
    Literary Topics
    Literature
    Maine
    Massachusetts
    Memoir
    Michigan
    Minnesota
    Mississippi
    M K Rawlings
    Musicians
    Nevada
    New Hampshire
    New Mexico
    New Yorker Stories
    Nonfiction
    North Carolina
    Novelist
    Ohio
    Pam Houston
    Parker Posey
    Photography
    Playwrights
    Poetry
    Politics
    Psychology
    Publishing
    Quotations
    Race
    Reading
    Recipes
    Seattle
    Short Story
    South Carolina
    Spain
    Susan Faludi
    Teaching
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Theater
    The Novel
    Travel
    Travel Photographs
    True Crime
    #TuesdayThoughts
    TV
    U.S.
    Vermont
    Voting
    War
    Washington
    Wisconsin
    World War II
    Writer's Wit
    Writing


    RSS Feed

    Blogroll

    alicefrench.wordpress.com
    kendixonartblog.com
    Valyakomkova.blogspot.com

    Websites

    Caprock Writers' Alliance
    kendixonart.com

    tedkincaid.com
    www.trackingwonder.com
    www.skans.edu
    www.ttu.edu
    www.newpages.com
    www.marianszczepanski.com
    William Campbell Contemporary Art, Inc.
    Barbara Brannon.com
    Artsy.net
WWW.RICHARDJESPERS.COM  ©2011-2025
                    BOOKS  PHOTOS  PODCASTS  JOURNALS  BLOG