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Sunday, August 6, 2017

The Writer's Life 8/6 - Influence

Here are books that most influenced the following successful authors, gleaned from mentalfloss.com, edited by yours truly. The list was 25. I whittled it to those who chose only one book: Ayn Rand - Calumet K by Merwin-Webster, a quaint, endearingly Midwestern novel about the building of a grain elevator... Joan Didion - Joseph Conrad's Victory. She said: "... I have never started a novel ... without rereading Victory. It opens up the possibilities of a novel. It makes it seem worth doing."... Meg Wolitzer - Old Filth by Jane Gardam. "It's a thrilling, bold and witty book by a British writer..."... Erik Larson - Dashiell Hammet's The Maltese Falcon. He says: "I love this book, all of it: the plot, the characters, the dialogue, much of which was lifted verbatim by John Huston for his screenplay for the beloved movie..."... Edwidge Danticat -  Love, Anger, Madness by the Haitian writer Marie Vieux-Chauvet. She says: "... each time I stumble into something new and eye-opening that makes me want to keep reading it over and over again."... R. L. Stine - Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. He said: "...Bradbury's lyrical depiction of growing up in the Midwest in a long-ago time, a time that probably never even existed, is the kind of beautiful nostalgia few authors have achieved."... Amy Tan - classic Chinese literature The Plum in the Golden Vase, written anonymously, which she describes as: "... a book of manners for the debauched."... J.K. Rowling - Jane Austen's Emma. She commented: "Virginia Woolf said of Austen, 'For a great writer, she was the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.'"... Lydia Davis - John Dos Passos's Orient Express. She said: "... one of the first 'grown up' books that made me excited about the language."... Cheryl Strayed - Adrienne Rich's poetry collection, The Dream of a Common Language... As for this unsuccessful writer, it's Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Finding traits in common with the main character both fascinated and scared me. I describe my first novel, Close to the Edge, as Crime and Punishment with sexuality at its core.

Sign of the times in MLB, from Phil Mushnick's column in today's NY Post: In 1974 28% of games included a complete game by at least one of the starting pitchers. So far in 2017 it is .01%.

I noted the overcast sky and decided to take the floating book shop to Park Slope, hoping the clouds wouldn't completely clear, knowing I'd bake along that stretch that doesn't get any shade on 9th St. just below 5th Av.. That worked out fine except for an occasional peak of sun. I even got a convenient parking spot, so things were looking up, especially when a couple became interested in Killing. We conversed and the man revealed he too graduated from Lafayette H.S., a year after me in 1968. Alas, he passed on the novel. It wasn't a total loss, as the woman purchased Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. My thanks, and also to the two Latinas who bought the three books in Spanish that were prominently displayed. That wasn't surprising, as scores of Hispanics come walking up the block after mass at the church on the corner of 4th Av. lets out. Soon a gentleman named Harry happened by and asked which of my books I was most proud of. I said Killing, and he bought it. His company is sending him to Connecticut for a month, and he needs reading material. Before he left he quoted a long passage about warriors. I did not recognize it and was kicking myself when, embarrassed by my ignorance, I let him walk away without identifying it. Thank you, sir, and also to the gentleman who bought Ian Fleming's first James Bond foray, Casino Royale, which is so different from the action packed flick of the same title starring Daniel Craig as 007.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
 

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