by Scott W Clemens | Jan 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
A neighbor retired last year after a thirty-five year career teaching high school English. She’s an avid reader and knows the subject, so I suggested she write a novel.
“Oh, I could never do that,” she said.
“Why not?”
“It’s too difficult,” she said, eyes wide, then shook her head. “Well, you would know.”
The truth is I do, and I don’t. Taken as a whole, the task of embarking on a new novel is daunting. It’s monolithic, intimidating, an act of hubris to think you could do it. On the other hand, writing a scene is easy enough, and rather fun. And in the end, isn’t a novel just a series of interlocking scenes? Looked at that way, it’s not so imposing (as long as there is no deadline with consequences lurking in the future). If you just take it scene by scene, eventually you will come to a logical end. Anne Lamott wrote a book about it called Bird by Bird. You might want to check it out.
by Scott W Clemens | Dec 31, 2018 | Author's Blog
Ever since I was fifteen I’ve kept a log of the books I read (over 1,400 to date). The vast majority are fiction. I try to keep up with contemporary authors, and read an occasional classic from the nineteenth-century. I don’t restrict my reading to fine literature, and I touch most of the genres — mystery, thriller, romance, magical realism, science-fiction, fantasy, gothic novels, historical novels, horror, young adult fiction, dystopian fiction, and very rarely a graphic novel. I do not read about vampires (with the exception of Christopher Moore’s spoofs), or werewolves, simply because I have no interest.
These days I read hardbacks, paperbacks, and ebooks, while fully three quarters of my “reading” is through audiobooks.I always reread two or three novels a year. In 2018 I read 52 books, including three non-fiction, and five books that I had read previously. 18 were written by women. Three were translations. 14 of the 52, were by British authors, three were Canadian, one Irish, one Spanish, one Pakistani, and the rest American.
My favorites in the order in which I read them:
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedre Paatrick
The Light of Day, by Eric Ambler
Allie and Bea, by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid
Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly
Feel free to pass on your own recommendations.
by Scott W Clemens | Oct 1, 2018 | Author's Blog
I just finished reading Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. Powerfully imagined, beautifully written, it’s a timely reminder of how quickly civilization can fracture, how despots can warp the narrative to turn neighbor against neighbor, and the lasting trauma inflicted on the survivors. At the same time there is compassion and post-traumatic growth, giving a hopeful look to the future. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. The writing is vivid and assured.
by Scott W Clemens | Aug 2, 2018 | Author's Blog
Are you feeling lucky? Through August 30th I’ll be running a SWEEPSTAKES. The winner, chosen at random, will receive a Kindle Paperwhite eReader ($120 value) pre-loaded with two of my novels.
Why would I give away a Kindle? Because it will give me the opportunity to interact with people who show an interest in reading, and introduce them to my work.
To enter simply go to http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/25672a321/? and click on the button at the bottom of the page.
by Scott W Clemens | Jul 31, 2018 | Author's Blog
I’ve read 29 books so far this year, and just finished George Saunders’ Man Booker Prize Winner Lincoln in the Bardo. My personal view is that Lincoln in the Bardo isn’t so much a novel as a play in novel-like form. I expect to see it on Broadway in two or three years. It’s really a very short book. George Saunders is a short-story writer, and though this book is 368 pages, it could be formatted to half the number of pages. Imaginative, idiosyncratic, and bold in conception, it incorporates dozens of contemporary historical accounts to build a collage of Lincoln and his middle son Willie. The larger story is narrated by over a hundred inhabitants of the bardo (a sort of purgatory between life and rebirth), each with his or her own concerns and foibles. Saunders’ bardo is suitably creepy. I have only a few reservations. There seemed no purpose to the lack of punctuation, or to the purposeful misspelling of certain words. Also, two foul-mouthed characters seem out-of-character for the time period, while at the same time their foul dialogue is presented with decorously Victorian redaction, as in “The f___ing little s_____! I should kick his G_____n, f___ing nuts!” Despite these reservations, Lincoln in the Bardo is a brave, artistic work, a wild cross-breeding of Waiting for Godot with Our Town, at once full of angst, darkly humorous, and poignant.
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