Seattlest: A Writer's Work is Never Done

Seth

Mon, 21 May 2007 15:37:07 -0800

"fearless writer" goes down in history with "brilliantly imagined" and "the novel only X could write" as completely meaningless book review phrases. There are fearful writers somewhere?

Dan

Mon, 21 May 2007 15:03:14 -0800

Pauls, I doubt it, and now my guess that he finds obscure reviews of himself via Google is blown out of the water: I just bought this book and one of the blurbs on the back is "A absolutely fearless writer" from the Rocky Mountain News--the same newspaper that printed the "Unfortunately, Flight is disappointing, and the signs are that the publisher knew it - why else would a novel by such a major writer be brought out as a paperback original?" review, although the quotes seem to be from different pieces.

Pauls

Mon, 21 May 2007 11:27:43 -0800

A brilliant strategy. Maybe Sherman Alexie reads Seattlest?

Jon

Fri, 18 May 2007 08:51:05 -0800

Finally getting around to reading "Ten Little Indians," but I must say that that Ridnour piece was the shiznit.

Jeremy M. Barker

Thu, 17 May 2007 15:45:09 -0800

Black Cat is a trade paper original imprint of Grove/Atlantic that they intend to load up with radical, controversial and experimental lit. I actually find Alexie a tiresome bore of a read, but the reviewer doesn't know her American literary history. Grove/Atlantic relaunched the Black Cat imprint because in the 1960s it published such nobodies as Kerouac, Brecht, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, etc., etc., etc. I don't know for certain, but my guess is Grove/Atlantic is pushing some of their known commodities into Black Cat to raise its profile. The book sections (what few are left) still resist reviews of paperback originals. But Alexie's status helps ensure a review, and by extension helps break down that wall and increase the likelihood that other Black Cat books get published. There was actually a pretty cool fold out chart of Black Cat/Grove's history in the Believer a while back, but it's no on their website.

MvB

Thu, 17 May 2007 14:50:42 -0800

Maybe it was because it was so local. It's a great piece -- it's persuasive as hell. Go Sherman!