Books: John Scalzi on writing the future during the age of Trump; L.A. murals, lost and found; a review of Michael Robbins’ erudite criticism
Hello readers! I’m Carolyn Kellogg, books editor at the L.A. Times. Here’s what you’ll find in our pages this week:
THE BIG STORY
“How do science fiction writers trying to build dystopias in their fiction compete with a real world where the United States government is actively denying climate change and threatening nuclear exchanges, where white nationalists stalk the halls of the White House and the president might be compromised by a foreign power? How does any science fiction writer finesse that one?” — critic at large John Scalzi explains the challenges of writing the future in the age of Trump.
L.A. MURALS
“Who has the right to tell history? Who has the right to occupy public space?” asks Erin M. Curtis, a co-author of the new book “¡Murales Rebeldes! L.A. Chicana/o Murals Under Siege.” The book, published by Angel City Press, accompanies an exhibition of the same name that is part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the citywide art festival that begins in September. Get a preview online and during a discussion Sunday at Vroman’s bookstore, when writers and artists in the book will appear in conversation with Gustavo Arellano, editor of the OC Weekly.
A CRITIC’S TAKE TIMES TWO
In Michael Robbins’ book “Equipment for Living: On Poetry and Pop Music,” he takes on Rainer Maria Rilke and John Ashbery, Journey and Taylor Swift. He’s intellectual but not dispassionate, and argues that critics should write from the heart. Justin Taylor writes our review: “‘Criticism is parasitic literature,’ writes Michael Robbins, the poet and critic, in his new collection of criticism, which I in turn have been tasked with criticizing. Where to start?”
BESTSELLERS
Debuting at No. 2 on our fiction bestseller list this week is “Mrs. Fletcher” by Tom Perrotta. I was just recommending this funny book about a single mother who rediscovers sex after her son goes to college yesterday when there was a flash of recognition: Oh, I heard him on the radio! That was probably his interview on “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross. He also talked to Kate Tuttle for us about the book, saying, “I think that gender has become one of the revolutions of our lifetime.”
MORE NEWS
Paul Yoon’s new short story collection, “The Mountain,” is quiet, restrained and howling beneath the surface, writes reviewer Alana Masad.
Did you know “apology” and “civil war” were coined the same year? Explore linguistic history with Merriam-Webster’s new Time Traveler feature. (The year was 1533, which also saw the birth of “famed,” “harangue,” “excrement,” “good-for-nothing,” “ovation,” “ungrateful,” “vigilance” and “preposterous.”)
Model and actress Cara Delevingne can add another line to her résumé: novelist. Her debut, “Mirror, Mirror,” co-written with Rowan Coleman, will be published in October.
Julie Klam is mildly obsessed with celebrities (with special affection for Kevin Bacon). She talks about her funny book about fame, “The Stars in Our Eyes,” with Meredith Maran.
ICYMI
If you’ve been to the Aloud reading series at the Central Library in downtown L.A., you’ve encountered founder and curator Louise Steinman, who provides the introductions. “She is at the forefront of the city’s intellectual ambitions,” writes Jeffrey Fleishman in this wonderful July profile. “It is about framing attention,” says Steinman. “What kinds of conversations would be useful to have?”
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