Lists of favorite things

[Paul Mackin]

On 8/3/2011 3:54 PM, Tom Beshear wrote:
> I finished reading Stone Arabia last night. Calling it a thriller 
> would be to stretch that word beyond any meaning. It's a literary 
> novel--specifically, one in the genre of psychological realism. 
> Spiotta has done better work -- I highly recommend Eat the Document, 
> her novel about the lives of Weather Underground-type radicals after 
> the Sixties.

Yes, I regret characterizing Stone Arabia as of any kind of genre. It's 
literary.

I guess I got carried away by the current popularity of the topic of 
memory loss.

I know nothing about the music depicted in the book, being generations 
away from it, but would be interested to know about the authenticity of 
its portrayal and such.

Haven't read other Spiotta but intend to.

P

>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Mackin" 
> <mackin.paul at verizon.net>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 3:23 PM
> Subject: Re: Lists of favorite things
>
>
>> I've just read in succession three novels of a genre they're now 
>> calling neuro-thrillers.
>>
>> They're all about memory  loss, a very hot topic at the moment for 
>> some reason.
>>
>> Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante  (protagonist with rapidly progressing 
>> dementia)
>>
>> Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta (protagonist who fears oncoming 
>> Alzheimer's because of family history)
>>
>> Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson (protagonist with trauma induced 
>> amnesia of a very peculiar kind}
>>
>> Was happy with all three.  Well enough written. Stone Arabia probably 
>> shouldn't even be call genre. Recommend it for people knowledgeable 
>> about punk and related music.
>>
>> P
>>
>
>