The Dark Kansas of Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina – Section Three, by Leo Tolstoy image via whatsthematterwithkansas.com So now we’re into what I call the “Kansas” of a novel: the characters are defined, the plot underway toward the opposite coast; i.e., the crisis point and denouement. But first to bring you up to date. Tolstoy spends a lot of time […]

Who Says Baseball Is Boring?

The missus and I decided we had to make one last baseball game before the Asheville Tourist season is over, so we hurried through chores and made it just in time for the first pitch tonight. For us, our baseball nights are ones of decadence, filled with hot dogs, Yuengling, pulled pork sandwiches, peanuts, and […]

Tales of City and Countryside

Anna Karenina – Section Two, by Leo Tolstoy image via superstock.co.uk Tolstoy doesn’t change horses as one might expect of an authorial dividing line between sections of this story. Keep in mind that serialized stories must be written so that each segment clings desperately to those on either side in order to keep readers enthralled. […]

Smooth Interweaving in High Society

image via dvdbeaver.com Anna Karenina – Section One, by Leo Tolstoy I always start a book slowly – I have to get a feel for the writer's style, the characters, setting, and some idea of where the book will lead me. But I've now finished Section One of Anna Karenina and have these comments: Tolstoy […]

“My Chivalric Fiasco” Is, Sadly, One

image via Harper's Magazine I'm always leery of stories, or novels, written in what's purported to be "a daring break from old-fashioned literary stylism," or "a new stylistic voice," and this is why: All too often, one of two things happen in such stories – The style isn't thought through well enough to coherently complement […]

Another Acceptance

image via gradysfunpark.com I was just notified tonight that an e-zine, Imitation Fruit, had accepted yet another story of mine, this one from my (hopefully) soon to be published collection of connected short stories. The story will be out in IF's November issue. Please look for it.

It’s Tome Time

image via longbeard-painting.blogspot.com Being summer, albeit near-Indian summer this time, I’ve made a practice of pulling out a major volume to read within the afternoon’s refrigerated inside air. This year I’m digging into a new edition of Leo Tolstoy’s second major work, Anna Karenina, by my fave translators, Volokhonsky and Pevear. The […]