Maud Newton http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100585586&ft=1&f=100585586 Maud Newton is a writer, editor and <a href="http://www.maudnewton.com">blogger</a>. en Copyright 2013 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.94 Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/npr_news_123x20.gif Maud Newton http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100585586&ft=1&f=100585586 Racing From Art To Revolution And Back Again In 'The Flamethrowers' The young heroine of Rachel Kushner's new book <em>The Flamethrowers</em> negotiates art and revolution from the back of a motorcycle — both the late-1970s art scene in Manhattan and the Italian radical left of the same era. Reviewer Maud Newton says <em>The Flamethrowers </em>has "timeless urgency." Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/04/175351776/racing-from-art-to-revolution-and-back-again-in-the-flamethrowers?ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/04/175351776/racing-from-art-to-revolution-and-back-again-in-the-flamethrowers?ft=1&f=100585586 The young heroine of Rachel Kushner's new book The Flamethrowers negotiates art and revolution from the back of a motorcycle — both the late-1970s art scene in Manhattan and the Italian radical left of the same era. Reviewer Maud Newton says The Flamethrowers has "timeless urgency."

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]]> An Unflinching Examination Of The Human Heart <em>The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg</em> combines the writer's four books of short stories into one impressive display of talent. Eisenberg's volume shows a mastery over the art of illustrating human emotion and complexity. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126116306&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126116306&ft=1&f=100585586 The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg combines the writer's four books of short stories into one impressive display of talent. Eisenberg's volume shows a mastery over the art of illustrating human emotion and complexity.

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]]> The (Imaginary) Illness Makes The Man <em>The Hypochondriacs,</em> Brian Dillon's book about nine historical figures who battled obsessions and fears about their health, shows how these afflictions bled into the work that defined their careers. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124095498&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124095498&ft=1&f=100585586 The Hypochondriacs, Brian Dillon's book about nine historical figures who battled obsessions and fears about their health, shows how these afflictions bled into the work that defined their careers.

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]]> 'Paris Review' Author Interviews: 50 Years Of Insight For a half-century, the literary journal's interviews, under the banner "The Art of Fiction," have unlocked the mysteries of writing and the eccentricities of writers. Critic Maud Newton reviews a new boxed set, <em>The Paris Review Interviews, Volumes I-IV</em>. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:42:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120303550&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120303550&ft=1&f=100585586 For a half-century, the literary journal's interviews, under the banner "The Art of Fiction," have unlocked the mysteries of writing and the eccentricities of writers. Critic Maud Newton reviews a new boxed set, The Paris Review Interviews, Volumes I-IV.

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]]> A Candid Take On The Evolving Immigrant Experience In his wide-ranging, expertly curated anthology <em>Becoming Americans,</em> Ilan Stavans collects four centuries of immigrants' stories. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:54:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114290245&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114290245&ft=1&f=100585586 In his wide-ranging, expertly curated anthology Becoming Americans, Ilan Stavans collects four centuries of immigrants' stories.

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]]> In Bogota, An Intricate Web Of Secrets, Betrayal Gabriel hasn't spoken to his father since the senior writer's review proclaiming his son's first book a failure. When impending heart surgery reunites the men, generational tensions surface along with WWII-era intrigue in Juan Gabriel Vasquez's inventive and intricately plotted <em>The Informers.</em> Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:06:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113496574&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113496574&ft=1&f=100585586 Gabriel hasn't spoken to his father since the senior writer's review proclaiming his son's first book a failure. When impending heart surgery reunites the men, generational tensions surface along with WWII-era intrigue in Juan Gabriel Vasquez's inventive and intricately plotted The Informers.

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]]> Ardent Polemic On Behalf Of Passion Cristina Nehring's <em>A Vindication of Love</em> makes an engaging case for raw attraction — where lust, emotion and intellect converge. Feminism, Nehring argues, has given us innumerable opportunities. Now how about the right to be romantic? Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:47:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112330635&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112330635&ft=1&f=100585586 Cristina Nehring's A Vindication of Love makes an engaging case for raw attraction — where lust, emotion and intellect converge. Feminism, Nehring argues, has given us innumerable opportunities. Now how about the right to be romantic?

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]]> Adventures In The Art World: 'American Painter' Assistant to a celebrity painter, whom she also sleeps with, Emma has stopped making her own art. Written by Jeff Koons' former assistant, <em>The American Painter Emma Dial</em> is a riveting inquiry into the creative impulse and a knowing portrait of the art world. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106058237&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106058237&ft=1&f=100585586 Assistant to a celebrity painter, whom she also sleeps with, Emma has stopped making her own art. Written by Jeff Koons' former assistant, The American Painter Emma Dial is a riveting inquiry into the creative impulse and a knowing portrait of the art world.

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]]> Madness, A Mansion And Overtones Of the Occult Although her past works have focused on lesbian themes, class anxiety is the animating force behind Sarah Waters' <em>The Little Stranger,</em> a chilling and psychologically layered haunted-house story set in the aftermath of World War II. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:54:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104885529&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104885529&ft=1&f=100585586 Although her past works have focused on lesbian themes, class anxiety is the animating force behind Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger, a chilling and psychologically layered haunted-house story set in the aftermath of World War II.

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]]> After The Colonizers Depart Sudanese author Tayeb Salih's <em>Season of Migration to the North</em> is an engaging and complicated novel about two men who leave Africa to study in England and afterward belong in neither place. The novel has become a classic of postcolonial literature. Mon, 18 May 2009 18:41:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104205048&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104205048&ft=1&f=100585586 Sudanese author Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North is an engaging and complicated novel about two men who leave Africa to study in England and afterward belong in neither place. The novel has become a classic of postcolonial literature.

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]]> From Beyond, Mark Twain Lets Loose Among the previously unpublished writings left behind at Twain's death were squibs, rants and unfinished essays that capture the folksy icon's furious but often repressed compulsion to tell the world what he really thought of its tedious platitudes and received wisdom. Fri, 01 May 2009 14:46:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103671123&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103671123&ft=1&f=100585586 Among the previously unpublished writings left behind at Twain's death were squibs, rants and unfinished essays that capture the folksy icon's furious but often repressed compulsion to tell the world what he really thought of its tedious platitudes and received wisdom.

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]]> After Storms Literal and Metaphoric, Rebuilding Frederick Barthelme's novel <em>Waveland</em> parallels the fate of the town it was named for, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It's about loss — of property, love and family — but also about starting over and, just maybe, building something better this time. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:53:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103291073&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103291073&ft=1&f=100585586 Frederick Barthelme's novel Waveland parallels the fate of the town it was named for, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It's about loss — of property, love and family — but also about starting over and, just maybe, building something better this time.

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]]> Horror And Slapstick In A Brutal, Timeless Parable It's Kafka meets Stephen King and The Three Stooges in this tale of a young man unwillingly inducted by psychotic clowns into a lethal circus act. Will Elliott's <em>The Pilo Family Circus</em> is a gripping psychological satire. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103089574&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103089574&ft=1&f=100585586 It's Kafka meets Stephen King and The Three Stooges in this tale of a young man unwillingly inducted by psychotic clowns into a lethal circus act. Will Elliott's The Pilo Family Circus is a gripping psychological satire.

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]]> Flannery O'Connor's Complex, Flawed Character In its painstaking honesty, Brad Gooch's <em>Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor</em> is both a gift and a curse to O'Connor's fans, displaying as it does the racial insensitivity and other flaws of one of America's greatest short-story writers. Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:06:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102500858&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102500858&ft=1&f=100585586 In its painstaking honesty, Brad Gooch's Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor is both a gift and a curse to O'Connor's fans, displaying as it does the racial insensitivity and other flaws of one of America's greatest short-story writers.

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]]> Writing Well About Writing Beautifully Kitty Burns Florey's history of penmanship is definitely not an exercise in hand-wringing about handwriting. Her engaging exploration is filtered through her own obsession with handwriting as an act of self-expression. Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:37:00 -0500 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101048028&ft=1&f=100585586 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101048028&ft=1&f=100585586 Kitty Burns Florey's history of penmanship is definitely not an exercise in hand-wringing about handwriting. Her engaging exploration is filtered through her own obsession with handwriting as an act of self-expression.

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