Why Mary Gaitskill thinks Gone Girl is ‘sick and dark’
Acclaimed US literary fiction writer Mary Gaitskill has published a thoughtful, comprehensive take-down of Gillian Flynn’s blockbuster Gone Girl on Bookforum - and it’s well worth reading, whether you’re fan or foe of the book. ‘As I read, I began to find the thing genuinely frightening,’ she writes. ‘By the time the train ride was over, I felt I was reading something truly sick and dark – and in case you don’t know, I’m supposedly sick and dark.’
Naomi Klein: Why environmental action groups are dangerous
In a fascinating interview over at Salon, Naomi ‘No Logo’ Klein tells why green groups may be more damaging to the environment than climate change deniers.
‘I think it goes back to the elite roots of the movement, and the fact that when a lot of these conservation groups began there was kind of a noblesse oblige approach to conservation. It was about elites getting together and hiking and deciding to save nature. And then the elites changed. So if the environmental movement was going to decide to fight, they would have had to give up their elite status. And weren’t willing to give up their elite status. I think that’s a huge part of the reason why emissions are where they are.’
Does Gordon Lish deserve a legacy of his own?
Gordon Lish is most famous for editing the works of writers like Richard Ford and Raymond Carver - and especially for his scissor-happy approach to the latter. But the Guardian suggests that it’s time Lish be awarded his own legacy, for his own ‘wealth of avant garde prose’ and his achievements as a teacher of creative writing.
Margaret Atwood on ‘horror’ and ‘terror’ writing
Margaret Atwood has a guest post over at Bookriot about ‘horror’ and ‘terror’ writing - and why she’s interested in both. ‘Horror’ affects the body; ‘terror’ the mind, she says. Attwood has just reviewed the new Stephen King for the New York Times and expects to be pilloried by both literature and genre fans. But she defends her interest in horror/terror writing - and points out that ‘this year’s despised pop shocker may well furnish the next decade’s serious thesis material’, citing Beowulf and Frankenstein as examples.
Super storms on film
The weather has gone from unseasonably hot to gloomy and rain-drenched in Melbourne this week. Wired is showcasing a series of photographs showing extreme weather, in Mitch Dobrowner’s series capturing the fury and drama of super storms.
