NP but Melanie Jackson

[kelber at mindspring.com]

I've read a number of Lurie's books - Imaginary friends, The Nowhere City and Foreign Affairs - and enjoyed them all.  Not earth-shaking, but entertaining and intelligent.

Laura


-----Original Message-----
>From: Joe Allonby <joeallonby at gmail.com>
>Sent: Jul 5, 2011 10:34 AM
>To: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
>Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>, braden.andrews at gmail.com, nancy stewart <nancy.stewart at gmail.com>, pov at ix.netcom.com, robert wyatt <arba at aol.com>
>Subject: Re: NP but Melanie Jackson
>
>OK. That's cool.
>
>
>On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 5:04 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I pick up this Avon mass market paperback called REAL PEOPLE
>> by Alison Lurie, whom I have read but long ago. This novel is
>> copyrighted 1969..........
>>
>> One thing that is interesting is that on the copyright page, rather
>> than citing the hardcover publisher---I am going to assume Ms. Lurie,
>> already critically successful with some earlier books licensed as mass
>> market editions, did have one for this short novel, but I will check that out---
>> the rights information refers to contacting the Melanie Jackson Agency and
>> gives her address. It says this edition was published "by arrangement with the
>> author"...
>>
>> This paperback printing was later than 1984 since it cites on the cover
>> her Pulitzer for that year for FOREIGN AFFAIRS. My guess is that this book and
>> her
>> earlier work was reissued after her win.
>>
>> But, this is the most interesting bit: This novel is about a female writer
>> spending
>>
>> a couple of weeks at a Writer's Colony (like Yadoo, but fictionalized)
>> with major characters fictionalized
>> yet references to real writers, too (adds verisimilutude, of course). Philip
>> Roth remarks, quotes referred to
>> here in 1969. We can assume the writer-narrator is probably modelled,
>> sea-changed of course, on Ms. Lurie--
>> the narrator has published a book of short stories and is trying to write more.
>>
>> In the course of this novel the narrator-writer alludes to her agent----Candida.
>> We know that Candida Donadio
>> was a real agent and Pynchon's first and Melanie Jackson became his second agent
>> and, later, wife.
>>
>>
>> More Misc. Ms Lurie has lifelong Cornell associations if i remember right,
>> teaching there
>> I do believe.
>>