Posts Tagged ‘literary fiction’
Happy Birthday Joyce Carol Oates
Fodder for Fiction Weekly Author Birthday Bash
Happy Birthday to Joyce Carol Oates! I couldn’t resist sharing the following excerpt in honor of her special day. It may not feel very celebratory – and I hope Joyce Carol Oates feels happy on her birthday. However, there is something so moving about how loss can change our perception.
The river! Marina recalled how from Adam’s studio, at the rear of his house, you could stand staring across the river, those long mesmerized moments as light faded on the agitated waves, and dusk deepened at the edges of things; dusk, a quality of earth; while an eerie oily-glistening light remained on the water. In the west, the sun was chemical red and gorgeous, bleeding at the horizon like a burst egg yolk.
On both sides of the river fireworks erupted. Fourth of July: the American holiday celebrating gunfire, rockets, aggression, death to the enemy. Across the river on the east bank of the Hudson, in the vicinity of Tarrytown, gaudy pinwheels of crimson, gold, blinding-white light were rising, soaring and falling soundlessly into the river. And a moment later replaced by more explosions, gaudy glittering colors rising, sinking soundlessly to extinction. “Stop. Stop. Stop.” This idiotic celebration, at a time of death. As if in mockery of a man’s death. Even in Jones Point, where death awaited her. Lurid bright carnival colors pitching up into the now-darkening sky over the river. Exploding yellow calyxes, crimson eyeballs, streamers of rainbow guts. Hideous, hellish. Marina recalled that fireworks are jokey symbols of sexual orgasm, and the thought repelled her. Never us. And now never.”
Middle Age by Joyce Carol Oates
Paradoxically, I find the passage beautiful as it describes something the narrator sees as abhorrent. It’s precisely why I am in awe of the masterful craft of Joyce Carol Oates. Thank you, Joyce, and many happy returns of the day!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
It’s Harper Lee’s FFF Birthday Celebration!
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a masterpiece worthy of its Pulitzer-prize winning acclaim. It’s been called “one of the best-loved stories of all time.” I’m right there with all of the other lovers of this novel. I first read it when I was in seventh grade, and have picked it up so many times since, I can’t count. Thank you Harper Lee for writing such a beautiful story.
This week’s Fodder for Fiction Author Birthday Bash celebration is for – you guessed it – Harper Lee!
In honor of her special day, I’m sharing a where-babies-come-from excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Enjoy!
“Dill’s voice was his own again: “Oh, they ain’t mean. They kiss you and hug you god night and good mornin’ and goodbye and tell you they love you—Scout, let’s get us a baby.”
“Where?”
There was a man Dill had heard of who had a boat that he rowed across to a foggy island where all theses babies were; you could order one—
“That’s a lie. Aunty said God drops ‘em down the chimney. At least that’s what I think she said.” For once, Aunty’s diction had not been too clear.
“Well that ain’t so. You get babies from each other. But there’s this man, too—he has all these babies just waitin’ to wake up, he breathes life into ‘em. …”
Dill was off again. Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head. He could read two books to my one, but he preferred the magic of his own inventions. He could add and subtract faster than lightning, but he preferred his own twilight world, a world where babies slept, waiting to be gathered like morning lilies. He was slowly talking himself to sleep and taking me with him, but in the quietness of his foggy island there rose the faded image of a gray house with sad brown doors.
“Dill?”
“Mm?”
“Why do you recon Boo Radley’s never run off?”
Dill sighed a long sigh and turned away from me.
“Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to. . . .”
Excerpt, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Share what you love about Harper Lee. I’d love to hear it. Come back again next Wednesday for another Fodder for Fiction Author Birthday Bash!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE BRONTE!
Fodder for Fiction Author Birthday Bash
This week’s Fodder for Fiction Birthday Bash is for Charlotte Bronte. Poor Jane Eyre was excluded from the celebrations at Gateshead. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t appreciate the festivities. This passage makes me feel like I’m spying on the party, right along with Jane! I thought it was the perfect excerpt to share in honor of Charlotte Bronte’s Birthday. Enjoy!
November, December, and half of January passed away. Christmas and the New Year had been celebrated at Gateshead with the usual festive cheer; presents had been interchanged, dinners and evening parties given. From every enjoyment I was, of course, excluded: my share of the gaiety consisted in witnessing the daily appareling of Eliza and Georgiana, and seeing them descend to the drawing-room, dressed out in thin muslin frocks and scarlet sashes, with hair elaborately ringletted; and afterwards, in listening to the sound of the piano or the harp played below, to the passing to and fro of the butler and footman, to the jingling of glass and china as refreshments were handed, to the broken hum of conversation as the drawing-room door opened and closed. When tired of this occupation, I would retire from the stairhead to the solitary and silent nursery there, though somewhat sad, I was not miserable.” Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
(Second Jane Eyre): “There are Mrs. Eshton and her three daughters—very elegant young ladies indeed; and there are the Honourable Blanch and Mary Ingram, most beautiful women, I suppose: indeed I have seen Blanch, six or seven years since, when she was a girl of eighteen. She came here to a Christmas ball and party Mr. Rochester gave. You should have seen the dining-room that day—how richly it was decorated, how brilliantly lit up! I should think there were fifty ladies and gentlemen present—all of the first county families; and Miss Ingram was considered the bell of the evening.” Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Share what you love about Charlotte Bronte. I’d love to hear it.
Come back again next Wednesday for another Fodder for Fiction Author Birthday Bash!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s
Happy Birthday Eudora Welty!
FODDER FOR FICTION WEEKLY AUTHOR BIRTHDAY BASH
If you’re a regular visitor here at Fodder for Fiction, or if you’ve read any of my fiction, you probably realize that I love food – and I love what a given character notices about the smells, tastes, and presentations of food tells you about that character’s personality. In line with that, in honor of the birthday of Eudora Welty, who is one of my favorite prose-portrait artists, I thought I’d share a bit of dialogue from her work revealing the kind of lovely feast worthy of her special day. I only hope she researched these beautiful and delicious treats first hand in order to write this!
“Listen and I’ll tell you what Miss Nell served at the party,” Loch’s mother said softly, with little waits in her voice. She was just a glimmer at the foot of his bed.
“Ma’am.”
“An orange scooped out and filled with orange juice, with the top put back on and decorated with icing leaves, a straw stuck in. A slice of pineapple with a heap of candied sweet potatoes on it, and a little handle of pastry. A cup made out of toast, filed with creamed chicken, fairly warm. A sweet peach pickle with flower petals around it of different-colored cream cheese. A swan made of a cream puff. He had whipped cream feathers, a pastry neck, green icing eyes, A pastry biscuit the size of a marble with a little date filling.” She sighed abruptly.
Excerpt, The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty
Are you hungry?… me too. Before you leave to grab a snack or watch the food network, tell me some of your favorite Eudora Welty stories. What better way to honor what would be her 101st birthday!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
http://www.LLLeibow.com
April 2010 WHAT I’M READING
This month, so far, I read The Photograph by Penelope Lively. The Photograph was an interesting combination of prose character portrait and mystery. I love the premise of an historian trying to put together the pieces of the life of the woman he should have known best – his wife. After her death, he discovers a curious and incriminating photograph of his wife holding hands with her sister’s husband. I found Penelopy Lively’s prose beautiful to read – this was wonderful character-driven fiction.
I also read Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesy. This is the first I have read of Livesy’s work. It was a ghost story and historical fiction wrapped up into one. I enjoyed it, too.
Finally, I still have about two hours left before I finish listening to The Hemings of Monticello. However, my i-pod and several baskets of clean laundry await me after I post this blog. So, I should be done with it soon!
I’ll check back again next month to let you know what I’m reading. In the meantime, you can follow along with my progress at http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/262330-lisa-s-2010-reading-goals.
HAPPY READING!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYN RAND
The insights Ayn Rand provides into human nature through her characters’ innermost thoughts and behavior is incredible to me. I’m guessing she may have been suspicious of my celebrating her birthday with a party. And the excerpt below illustrates just how putting on heirs might have ulterior motives. However, I assure you. I’m merely honoring Ayn Rand as one of the great masters whose work has earned the claim of modern classic. Happy Birthday Ayn Rand!
“Here. … Boy, you look fine! Better than ever. How do you do it, you lucky bastard? I have so many things to tell you! How did it go down in Washington? Everything all right?” And before Keating could answer, Francon rushed on: “Something dreadful’s happened to me. Most disappointing. Do you remember Lili Landau? I thought I was ll set with her, but last time I saw her, did I get the cold shoulder! Do you know who’s got her? You’ll be surprised. Gail Wynand, no less! The girl’s flying high. You should see her pictures and her legs all over his newspapers. Will it help her show or won’t it! What can I offer against that? And do you know what he’s done? Remember how she always said that nobody could give her what she wanted most—her childhood home, the dear little Austrian village where she was born? Well, Wynand bought it!—and had it assembled again down on the Hudson, and there it stands now, cobbles, church, apple trees, pigsties and all! Then he springs it on Lili, two weeks ago. Wouldn’t you just know it? If the King of Babylon could get hanging gardens for his homesick lady, why not Gail Wynand? Lili’s all smiles and gratitude—but the poor girl was really miserable. She’d have much preferred a mink coat. She never wanted the damn village. And Wynand knew it, too. But there it stands, on the Hudson. Last week, he gave a party for her, right there, in that village—a costume party, with Mr. Wynand dressed as Cesare Borgia—wouldn’t he, though?—and what a party!—if you can believe what you hear, but you know how it is, you can never prove anything on Wynand. Then what does he do the next day but pose up there himself with little schoolchildren who’d never seen an Austrian village—the philanthropist!—and plasters the photos all over his papers with plenty of sob stuff about educational values, and gets mush notes from women’s clubs! I’d like to know what he’ll do with the village when he gets rid of Lili! He will, you know, they never last long with him. Do you think I’ll have a chance with her then?”
Excerpt, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Help me celebrate Ayn Rand’s birthday by leaving a comment! I can’t wait to hear from you.
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
National Book Festival 2009
I had a fantastic time at the National Book Festival on Saturday, September 27, 2009. I volunteered this year and was assigned to the Fiction and Fantasy Tent — the perfect place for me! I got to meet John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, and Jeanette Walls.
