Headlines from the last 2 weeks

[1.22.06]
What can I say? I am still so proud to see a short story like "Brokeback Mountain" turned into a major feature film. What does that have to do with magical realism? Well, if you recall, "Brokeback Mountain" was penned by the illustrious E. Annie Proulx of The Shipping News fame. One of this blogster's favorite North American magical realists, Proulx has out a new collection of magical realist work. Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2 (Scribner) follows up her successful first collection, Close Range. Connie Ogle reviews Proulx's latest effort here.

[1.22.06]
Here's a nice tribute to Franz Kafka, written by Jacob Stockinger for the Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. Stockinger's explication of the popular term, kafkaesque, is given a thorough once over in this bit written to preface last Sunday's feature presentation, a free screening of the Orson Welles 1963 movie adapation of Kafka's The Trial, featured by the local Classic Book and Movie Club in Madison.

[1.22.06]
We've talked about young American playwright Sarah Ruhl here before (does Eurydice or Passion Play seem familiar?). As the San Jose Mercury News reports, she's back with The Clean House. Writes the Mercury News, "Ruhl's work often has been likened to magical realism, a label to which she has a mixed response. 'For me,' she says, 'theater is always about transformation. I think the only time I kind of object to the term magical realism is when it relegates what happens onstage to some fantasy realm.'"

[1.22.06]
Riffing on our recent article on Jewish magical realism/fabulism, here's a link to a new novel evoking Yiddish folklore. The World to Come by Dara Horn was recently reviewed by Ron Charles for the Washington Post. Charles wrote: "A doctoral candidate in Hebrew and Yiddish literature at Harvard, she's more devoted to ancient mysticism than chic magical realism." [Editor's note: wince…why must magical realism be characterized as chic? Is Cervantes' Don Quixote or Gabo's One Hundred Years of Solitude or Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson chic?]

[1.19.06]
Ring the dinner bell! Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) has come out with what sounds like a literary recipe collection that fans are likely already salivating over. Here's a review of Intimas Suculencias, Tratado Filosofico de Cocina by Vicky Cowal for El Universal, in English for The Miami Herald.

[1.15.06]
Judy McAulay Grimes gives children's book author Julius Lester the thumbs up in The Clarion-Ledger in her review of his book, The Old African (Dial Books, 2005; illustrated by Jeremy Pinkney), for being an "inspiring book" on "black history." Which, of course, begs the reminder: next month is Black History Month. This magical realist tale might just make the perfect bedtime story or classroom feature for ushering in this important month.

[1.13.06]
The New York Times recently reported on Louis Sachar's most recent young adult release: Small Steps, which features the beloved character, Armpit, from Sachar's popular previous title, Holes. Reviewer A.O. Scott points out that this is a far more realistic storyline than that in Sachar's previous book, which might explain why Scott says that "Small Steps is likable and readable, but it never quite emerges from the shadow of Holes." This is quite a risk for Sachar, whose other work is typically infused with magical realist touches. Will reader expectations dilute the efficacy of this author's latest efforts?