Chilean-American writer Allende seeks inspiration after loss

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Isabel Allende begins writing all her books on Jan. 8. But when the day arrived this year, she struggled with writer's block. 　The practice began out of superstition. She started writing her first book, “The House of the Spirits,” on this date and it became an international best-seller. She then kept it as a discipline. But it was a strange year (she doesn’t want to call it a bad one). A year away from writing after great losses: her publicist, two friends, even h

May 18, 2016

Julian Barnes portrays troubled composer Shostakovich

“The Noise of Time: A Novel” 　By Julian Barnes　Knopf (224 pages, $25.95)　In Julian Barnes’ novel “The Noise of Time,” Dmitri Shostakovich considers the two types of composers in the Soviet Union: dead ones and frightened ones.　Call Shostakovich one of the frightened ones. His music is played around the world, but he also stands by the elevator in his fifth-floor apartment many nights, a valise packed with his favorite cigarettes, in case he is arrested by the NKVD for such nonsensical ideologica

May 18, 2016

Desperation, sublimation and loss seasoned with irony, humor

“LaRose” 　By Louise Erdrich　Harper (384 pages, $27.99)　Romeo Puyat, antihero and scourge of Louise Erdrich’s new novel “LaRose,” is a cursed man. Addicted to prescription drugs and anything else he can get his hands on, he lives in the shadows. Decades of ridicule and abuse run through his veins and fuel the rage that drives this story to its stunning end.　But once the scores have played out, Romeo stumbles into a moment of brief eloquence, a notable concession and measure of the affection that

May 18, 2016

Han Kang wins Booker award

Korean author Han Kang became the first Korean to win the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel “The Vegetarian” on Monday. British translator Deborah Smith, who translated the novel from Korean to English, was jointly awarded the prize. 　“I wanted to depict a woman who refuses to exercise violence,” Han, 45, said in her acceptance speech at the award ceremony held at London‘s Victoria and Albert Museum on Monday night. 2016 Man Booker International prize for fiction winner Ha

May 17, 2016

Children’s book on Korean history published in English

“Letters from Korean History” is an English-language series of books written for primary to high school students who are interested in learning about Korean history, according to its publisher Cum Libro. 　The books, published last week, are “for young readers overseas who are curious about Korea and its people, and for young Korean readers keen to learn more about their own history while improving their language skills as global citizens,” said author Park Eun-bong, who has a master’s degree in

May 11, 2016

Matt Haig offers people with depression ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’

“Reasons to Stay Alive” 　By Matt Haig　Penguin (272 pages, $15)　Matt Haig suffered months of depression and anxiety so crippling that he stood on the edge of a cliff, trying to summon the wherewithal to throw himself off.　“The weird thing about depression,” Haig writes in “Reasons to Stay Alive,” is “the fear of death remains the same. The only difference is that the pain of life has rapidly increased.”　Somehow, Haig inched his way back from that cliff. Over time, with love and support from his w

May 11, 2016

‘The Girl from Home’ is a solid economic thriller

“The Girl from Home” 　By Adam Mitzner　Gallery (336 pages, $26)　The recent economic downturn -- and financial scandals -- have also ushered in a new wave of economic thrillers in which hedge funds and stock trading provide a background for more dastardly deeds.　Adam Mitzner wisely uses this background as a start to explore the maturation of a selfish, vain man who eventually understands what matters more than money or a flashy car in “The Girl from Home.”　Hedge fund manager Jonathan Caine is one

May 11, 2016

Africa's contradictions encountered in a 9-month walk along the Nile

“Walking the Nile” 　By Levison Wood　Atlantic Monthly Press (338 pages, $26)　In becoming the first person to walk the Nile River’s length of more than 6,500 kilometers, explorer and ex-British soldier Levison Wood does more than cross footsteps with noted Victorian predecessors such as David Livingstone and Richard Burton.　He also traces a nine-month journey through the contradictions of African life -- cacophonous cities and expanses of barely trod landscapes offset by the greed and corruption o

May 11, 2016

‘Paul McCartney: The Life’ offers thorough account of ex-Beatle

“Paul McCartney: The Life” 　By Philip Norman　Little, Brown (853 pages, $32)　Behind the double thumbs-up, impish smile and round, half-moon eyes lies a Paul McCartney more complex than public perception lends itself to.　As biographer Philip Norman writes in “Paul McCartney: The Life,” McCartney is more than just the “cute Beatle” thumping away on a left-handed violin-shaped bass or the elder statesman of rock who continues to sell out stadium concerts lasting more than three hours. McCartney is,

May 11, 2016

Korean novelists to visit London

Korean novelists Cheon Myeong-gwan and Han Yu-joo will be discussing Korean society and literature in London from May 10-13.　The two writers will be participating in an event celebrating the spring issue of Asia Literary Review, a Hong Kong-based quarterly literary journal which aims to spread Asian literature in English-speaking countries.　The entire spring issue, published in April, is dedicated to introducing Korean literature, carrying translated excerpts from works by Korean novelists such

May 9, 2016

Don DeLillo’s new novel considers life after death

“Zero K” 　By Don DeLillo 　Scribner (288 pages, $26)　Don DeLillo’s latest novel toggles between a remote compound in central Asia and the workaday world of New York City. In the bunker an apocalyptic cult is engaged in the cryogenic preservation of humans, whose brains and bodies are being frozen until the time when diseases have been cured and human consciousness perfected. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, an introspective young man named Jeffrey Lockhart, whose father, billionaire Ross Lockhart, is an

May 4, 2016

Fiction by ex-prosecutor tackles campus rape head on

“The Last Good Girl” 　By Allison Leotta　Touchstone (288 pages, $25)　Former federal sex-crimes prosecutor Allison Leotta continues her series featuring her fictional counterpart Anna Curtis in a too frighteningly real scenario in “The Last Good Girl.” 　College student Emily Shapiro has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar with a young man named Dylan, but he was chasing her down the street. The investigation reveals a video diary that Emily kept that detailed how Dylan had raped her, and

May 4, 2016

New Spenser novel is a 5-alarm thriller

“Robert B. Parker’s Slow Burn” 　By Ace Atkins　G.P. Putnam’s Sons (320 pages, $270)　A troubling series of fires in mostly abandoned Boston buildings turns deadly in “Robert B. Parker’s Slow Burn,” the latest crime thriller in the long-running but still potent Spenser series.　Spenser, a private detective, is called upon when the arson unit of the fire department hits dead ends investigating a fire at an old, shut down Catholic church. Three firefighters entering the church died when flames erupted

May 4, 2016

Judy Blume talks Tumblr, possible new book

NEW YORK (AP) -- Judy Blume has many projects on her mind.　She recently helped open a bookstore in Key West, Florida, where she lives much of the year. She’s starting to promote the paperback edition of her novel “In the Unlikely Event,” set in her native New Jersey in the early 1950s. She has just launched a Tumblr account (judyblumeofficial.tumblr.com), on top of her popular Twitter feed and Facebook page. And, she hasn’t ruled out a new book, despite indicating last year that “In the Unlikely

May 4, 2016

Undeterred by rescues, novelist ready to set sail again

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A novelist who was twice rescued from storm-battered sailboats hopes his next adventure lacks in such drama.  　 South Carolina author Michael Hurley plans to sail around the world after using the experience of scuttling his sailboat on a failed trans-Atlantic crossing for his new book, “The Passage.” “The Passage” by Michael Hurley (Ragbagger Press)　“I love the freedom of sailing on the ocean. There’s no limit. The horizon extends. There’s nothing to stop you from going w

May 4, 2016