It's almost publication day (officially June 25) for Ron Currie's new book and it's being eased into existence with a generous introduction from none other than The New York Times's superb reviewer, Janet Maslin--see yesterday's insightful study, "The Sky Is Falling Soon! (And Junior Is Agitated)."
Her praise is unqualified for Everything Matters! (a prophecy cum coming-of-age set in rural Maine) and the set-up for many similar reviews to follow, which is just what a supremely talented writer needs in an era where publishing on paper is in peril, where people are watching every penny, and I'm sure there are three more phrases I can think of where all the important words start with p.
And the review is very long, sports a great picture of Ron, and makes all of us who've been on his team since before any publisher even knew who he was very happy. I love this guy so much he's a category here (one of a very small number of writers dubbed "Endless Knots Writers), even gave the book party for his first book, God is Dead."
Here's a taste of what Maslin says:
What these opening passages also announce is that Mr. Currie is a startlingly talented writer whose book will pay no heed to ordinary narrative conventions. His thoughts on cosmic doom somehow take the form of a joyride. He survives the inevitable, apt comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut and writes in a tenderly mordant voice of his own. He seems equipped to succeed at almost anything...
PS: Just tried to look up his reading schedule for the book and found this picture on his site, which I apparently snapped, taken in our dining room. Something very recursive about all this. He'll be at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., on July 8 at 7 PM. Other places too and I'll post as soon as he sends me the schedule (come'on, Currie).
