Highly recommend. I’m 10 pages into “The Collected Stories” and she’s brilliant. Her minimalistic style is VERY reminiscent of Chuck, although technically I guess it’s the opposite. Anyways, if you like him enough to be here, her writing thus far is terrific.
“The police and emergency service people fail to make a dent. The voice of the pleading spouse does not have the hoped-for effect. The woman remains on the ledge – though not, she threatens, for long.
"I imagine that I am the one who must talk the woman down. I see it, and it happens like this.
"I tell the woman about a man in Bogota. He was a wealthy man, an industrialist who was kidnapped and held for ransom. It was not a TV drama; his wife could not call the bank and, in twenty-four hours, have one million dollars. It took months. The man had a heart condition, and the kidnappers had to keep the man alive.
"Listen to this, I tell the woman on the ledge. His captors made him quit smoking. They changed his diet and made him exercise every day. They held him that way for three months.
"When the ransom was paid and the man was released, his doctor looked him over. He found the man to be in excellent health. I tell the woman what the doctor said then – that the kidnap was the best thing to happen to that man.
"Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I tell it with the thought that the woman on the ledge will ask herself a question, the question that occurred to that man in Bogota. He wondered how we know that what happens to us isn’t good.”
Just covered this amazing collection for my podcast, and I still have so many questions. Can anyone listen and give their input?
http://comicsbookclub.libsyn.com/a-great-la-week-w-lynn-maleh
I think of the chimp, the one with the talking hands.
In the course of the experiment, that chimp had a baby. Imagine how her trainers must have thrilled when the mother, without prompting, began to sign to her newborn.
Baby, drink milk.
Baby, play ball.
And when the baby died, the mother stood over the body, her wrinkled hands moving with animal grace, forming again and again the words: Baby, come hug, Baby, come hug, fluent now in the language of grief.
I want him to know what it clearly seems to me: that if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive.
I need help deciphering some of Hempel's sparse language so that I can figure out what the story is about.
I have a few ideas. The father is either mentally ill and going to see a psychiatrist, he sees a whorehouse at the end or he is an alcoholic headed to AA. Do any of these sound right?
A collection of wonderful very very short stories
a review from amazon user A. T. A. Oliveira November 13, 2007 that says it better than I could:
There are many reasons to read Amy Hempel's superb debut, "Reasons to Live". Here you have five of them:
1- Less Is More: She writes like nobody with fewer words than anyone. I used to think that Raymond Carver was minimalist (although he didn't like this label). Silly me. Hempel is able to use fewer words than him. Her style is very economic displaying only the very necessary.
2 - "In The Cemetery Where Al Jonson Is Buried": One of the best short stories written by any writer anywhere. Reportedly her first text, Hempel has debuted with assurance and grace. A whole live passes in front of our eyes in less than 20 pages.
3 - People: Hempel writes about human beings, and not big Historical Facts. Thank God. Many people may look down on writers like her - also Carver, Alice Munro etc - because the readers have the stupid feeling of not being learning anything. In the end of one of her stories (any of them) we can have the feeling of knowing the world a little better. And this is priceless.
4 - Images: Imagine a plastic Jesus figure that can breath. Now imagine the amazement of a character looking at it and asking for a miracle. Now imagine you, as a reader, being swallowed by this situation. Got the picture?
5 - Reasons to Live: This collection is populated by people trying to find a better reason to stay alive. There are many, they just have to find them. Hempel's way of approaching this people is delicate and complex. We couldn't ask for more.
Amy Hempel talks about many things that come up on this sub a lot and works opposite most of what is suggested. She talks about the importance of her writing class, strong first drafts that don't involve tons of rewrites, and also discusses some ideas on what fiction is.
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/227/the-art-of-fiction-no-176-amy-hempel
Hello. I'm looking for a local real estate agent. Who do you recommend?
Link to the book club: https://www.reddit.com/r/Book_Club_CPH/comments/o0cnnl/welcome/
UPDATE 2: I'm thinking of making a new group for this 'Book Club CPH'. In this group we can vote on the first book to read. Though I think it would be good with a slow start. So why not try to find some short fiction to start? If you're interested in joining, please think of some good short fiction we could read. I'm thinking 2-10k words, just so we don't have to wait too long before the first meetup. We could also simply meetup first and just meet and greet ofcourse :) Though please still think of some good short fiction anyway. And please consider it to be accessible in bookstores, libraries or the internet too :)
UPDATE: Thank you so much for the awards and the general interest in this meetup! Seems like we could have a nice get-together. I didn't really have a book club in mind but it seems like a good idea! So I will make a poll so we can vote on which book to read. Tell me if you have any ideas on how to structure and organize this book club. All ideas are very welcome! I also have some ideas of where to meet up - outside places close to nature / water sides in the inner city, though still far away from soundboxes ;)
ORIGINAL POST: Hi there.
I've been thinking quite a bit about doing this and decided to do it now!
So ... I'm just curious if there is any book nerds in here?
Though I love my friends so dearly I always wanted to connect with more book nerds to share this intereset :) Btw I'm a 'native' copenhagner just moved back after living 7 years in Aarhus.
So a little insight to what I'm reading: At the moment I'm reading Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov which is the first book ever that I felt a bit indecisive about reading. Though people seem to really like it on the internet. Other than that I've been reading sort of smaller (more unknown) authors from the US like Amy Hempel and Kathrine Dunn and Nami Mun and Chuck Palahniuk etc. I'm also excited to read Murakami's new book (I loved The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle). I'm also looking forward to read the big russian authors like Dostojevskij and Tolstoj that I honestly never have had much insight to. I tried reading Thomas Mann The Death in Venice but I didn't really get into it though it sounds really interessting. Have to give it another try. Finished "Hærværk" by Tom Kristensen half a year ago and really liked to get the feel of CPH in the
... keep reading on reddit ➡Not necessarily female and North American like my examples.
Thank you!
Phil
Go post NSFW jokes somewhere else. If I can't tell my kids this joke, then it is not a DAD JOKE.
If you feel it's appropriate to share NSFW jokes with your kids, that's on you. But a real, true dad joke should work for anyone's kid.
Mods... If you exist... Please, stop this madness. Rule #6 should simply not allow NSFW or (wtf) NSFL tags. Also, remember that MINORS browse this subreddit too? Why put that in rule #6, then allow NSFW???
Please consider changing rule #6. I love this sub, but the recent influx of NSFW tagged posts that get all the upvotes, just seem wrong when there are good solid DAD jokes being overlooked because of them.
Thank you,
A Dad.
Well, toucan play at that game.
Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis.
They also play roles in Lord of the Rings.
I guess that makes them the Tolkien white guys.
She said apple-lutely
There are a lot of post modern reviews in this sub, and a number of books get passed over in favor of Thomas Pynchon, and more rarely Donald Barthleme and John Barth.
I want to recommend Barry Hannah's Geronimo Rex. If anyone is curious, they may be interested in reading his short story Water Liars or Testimony of pilot first.
Geronimo Rex is not a politically correct story. However, despite the appearance of the "n-word" and one of the characters being a white supremacist Henry Miller, I think that those heavily interested in scenes of Pig Bodine pissing in a gas tank and discussions of racial prejudice in the US south will be very interested.
The book has only about 800 reviews on Good Reads, so it appears that people may be more interested in it because of obscurity. It's a great post-modern novel. Hannah was with Ray Carver, TC Boyle, Don Delillo, and Amy Hempel as one of the greats edited by Gordon Lish if people are curious.
He absolutely tackles white supremacy in the south head-on.
'Eye-do'
This is my first post pls don't kill me lol.
The people in the comment section is why I love this subreddit!!
Cred once again my sis wants credit lol
I think of the chimp, the one with the talking hands.
In the course of the experiment, that chimp had a baby. Imagine how her trainers must have thrilled when the mother, without prompting, began to sign to her newborn.
Baby, drink milk.
Baby, play ball.
And when the baby died, the mother stood over the body, her wrinkled hands moving with animal grace, forming again and again the words: Baby, come hug, Baby, come hug, fluent now in the language of grief.
