Book Review: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Part parable, part thriller, part cautionary tale, “The Vegetarian” is the crushing story of a family who seem both unwilling and unable to address the worsening mental illness of one of their own: a young woman name Yeong-hye, whose dream one night not only turns her against eating meat, it kick starts an extremely violent battle against everyone she knows for her mind, her body and her soul.

Told in three acts, from three very different perspectives: Yeong-hye’s awful husband, her pervy artist brother-in-law, and her miserable put-upon sister, the author explores the explosive relationship between inner-world passions and outer-world limitations — that strike-slip fault where the submission, subversion and expression of personal choices must meet and account for personal responsibility and familial and societal obligation.

Dark, disturbing, provocative, bloody, violent, intense, and sometimes even beautiful, “The Vegetarian” was a fast and excellent read — surprisingly meaty for its 192 pages. Hard to put down, especially in the first section. Four stars and a bit more.

I read it on my iPhone with the Kindle App, and there weren’t any formatting, typos or other issues. Definitely worth the money.

Get The Vegetarian by Han Kang at Amazon.

Carolyn See, California Literary Legend, Dies at 82

You know that one teacher that changed your life, that one teacher that made you see a better version of yourself was actually possible and attainable?

That was Carolyn See for me. She was my teacher, my friend and mentor. I am a better writer and a better human being for having known her and learned from her and worked with her.

I just can’t say enough how much she changed my life for the better. She was the best!!! I’ll never forget her. I’ll never forget what I learned from her.

RIP Carolyn See, my friend and mentor. I love you, and I miss you!!!

To learn more about Carolyn See and her amazing body of work, here’s the announcement in the LA Times today.

Celebrate Hispanic Literacy Day

Friends in San Diego: I’m one of the featured writers at the HISPANIC LITERACY DAY event at the South Chula Vista Public Library this Saturday, September 15 in Chula Vista. Perfect for the whole family, the free event features 25+ authors, illustrators, speakers, panelists, cultural performances and readings from Noon to 5pm. I’ll be reading from my books in the “Readings YA Room” at 1 pm and, from 2 to 3 pm, I’ll on a poetry panel (moderated by Thelma Reyna) with Sonia Gutiérrez, Yago Cura, and Caroline Gerardo in “Conference Room 2”. Throughout the day I’ll be at Table #15 in the Exhibition Hall, so stop by and say hi.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. This month celebrates the history, cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans.

It also recognizes the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Celebrate Hispanic Literacy Day
Saturday, September 15, 12:00 – 5:00
South Chula Vista Branch Library,
389 Orange Avenue,
Chula Vista, CA 91911
619-585-5755

The Brubury Tales –> (eBook, paperback and MP3) http://www.amazon.com/The-Brubury-Tales-ebook/dp/B007P73RT2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories –> http://www.amazon.com/Four-Eyed-Fairy-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B005D7KFHI/ref=la_B004KUAB1Y_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347579493&sr=1-2

Read Chapter One of One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

If you haven’t read Jonathan Tropper’s books, you’re in for a wickedly funny treat. USA Today calls Tropper “a more sincere, insightful version of Nick Hornby, that other master of the male psyche,” and Entertainment Weekly exclaimed “It’s amazing what can happen in the hands of a casually brilliant author.”

An acclaimed screenwriter, Tropper has also written for Steven Spielberg and is currently writing a new Cinemax series, Banshee, that will debut in January. Tropper’s last novel, This Is Where I Leave You, was a phenomenal success named one of the best books of 2009 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Amazon, among others.

One Last Thing Before I Go demonstrates yet again Tropper’s deft touch with the darkest of materials and his ability to make readers laugh out loud in one paragraph and move them to tears in the next. You can meet Jonathan Tropper on Tuesday night at The Grove in LA where he’ll be reading and signing from his new novel. In the meantime, take a few minutes to read the first chapter of One Last Thing Before I Go, which the author has generously shared with readers at LA Books Examiner below. Enjoy!

When: Tuesday August 28 @ 7 pm
Where: Barnes & Noble (The Grove)
189 Grove Drive Suite K-30 Los Angeles
Get directions

Learn more about Jonathan Tropper and his work at his website: jonathantropper.com

About the book:
You don’t have to look very hard at Drew Silver to see that mistakes have been made. His fleeting fame as the drummer for a one-hit wonder rock band is nearly a decade behind him. He lives in the Versailles, an apartment building filled almost exclusively with divorced men like him, and makes a living playing in wedding bands. His ex-wife, Denise, is about to marry a guy Silver can’t quite bring himself to hate. And his Princeton-bound teenage daughter Casey has just confided in him that she’s pregnant—because Silver is the one she cares least about letting down.

So when he learns that his heart requires emergency, lifesaving surgery, Silver makes the radical decision to refuse the operation, choosing instead to use what little time he has left to repair his relationship with Casey, become a better man, and live in the moment, even if that moment isn’t destined to last very long. As his exasperated family looks on, Silver grapples with the ultimate question of whether or not his own life is worth saving.

With the wedding looming and both Silver and Casey in crisis, this broken family struggles to come together, only to risk damaging each other even more. One Last Thing Before I Go is Jonathan Tropper at his funny, insightful, heartbreaking best.

Read Chapter On at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner.

“Read Chapter One” is a special feature at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner where authors, from emerging to bestsellers, share an excerpt of their newest books:

North of Hollywood by actor/playwright and local author Rick Lenz

The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by Los Angeles author A.G.S. Johnson

33 Days by LA author and former 80′s indie rocker Bill See

Girl in Translation, the bestselling debut novel by Jean Kwok

The Heights, the bestselling book by novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Peter Hedges

The Omega Theory by international bestselling author Mark Alpert

Fatal Error by bestselling author J.A. Jance

The Dark Side of Innocence by LA writer and bestselling author Terri Cheney

Golden State, the fresh and entertaining debut novel by local author David Prybil, Barnes and Noble Rising Star Award Winner

A Discovery of Witches by professor of history at the University of Southern California and bestselling author Deborah Harkness

The Meaning of Matthew by Judy Shepard, an activist and co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation

The Ark, the bestselling Internet sensation by Boyd Morrison

The Insider by Reece Hirsch

Changes by Jim Butcher, bestselling author of The Dresden Files

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, former lead singer of The Talking Heads

Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories (now available for Kindle and Nook). Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.

A Coupla Shades of Taupe by Court Burback: Read Chapter One

Love it or hate it, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by former TV executive turned mega bestselling author E.L. James is a true publishing phenomenon. In fact, according to CBS News, these books are “among the fastest-selling series of all time” with more than 10 million copies sold and counting. Film versions of the books are almost certainly on the way, and so is the onslaught of copycats and parodies.

And that’s why we’re here. Before you’re inundated with Fifty Shades of Everything books, meet Court Burback, an LA writer and author of a new Fifty Shades parody A Coupla Shades of Taupe that’s been getting some buzz around town and some great reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Court Burback has agreed to share the first chapter of A Coupla Shades of Taupe below, a wild and funny parody she describes as, “a romantic, tender tale of blossoming emotions and hardcore schtupping” for which “a Pulitzer is inevitable.” Enjoy!

About the author
Court Burback was a finalist for the Glass Woman Fiction Prize, and her nonfiction has appeared in publications that include Playgirl, Laguna Beach Magazine, and Hustler. A Coupla Shades of Taupe is available at Amazon, and you can learn more about Burback at her website onedumbbunny.com.

About the book:
Pagan Taupe is the wealthiest man in all of Arkansas. He’s got a home with a working refrigerator, a private rickshaw driver, and a respected empire of taxidermy/fro-yo chain stores. The only thing that’s missing is a whiny young codependent named Alexandra Aluminum. From the moment he sees her tripping over an angry raccoon, it’s clear that Alexandra dills his pickle. Pagan becomes obsessed with Alexandra at a level normally portrayed by Rob Lowe in Lifetime movies. But unlike Rob Lowe, Pagan doesn’t want to beat her with a tire iron and bury her beneath the town bridge—he wants to make her his live-in sex slave.

But if eager young Alexandra wants to feel the caress of Pagan’s ear hair against her cheek, she’s going to have to play by his rules. When Pagan reveals the special room he’s built to live out his sexual proclivities, Alexandra’s natural reaction is to cold cock him and call the police. But the clown chained to the wall assures Alexandra that Pagan is a stand-up guy, and if she gives him a chance he can introduce her to a world of unimaginable pleasure. Alexandra takes the leap and agrees to be Pagan’s unquestioning “submissive,” and the two embark on a sexual journey that would make Gloria Steinem put a loaded gun to her temple.

Read Chapter On at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner.

 

“Read Chapter One” is a special feature at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner where authors, from emerging to bestsellers, share an excerpt of their newest books:

North of Hollywood by actor/playwright and local author Rick Lenz

The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by Los Angeles author A.G.S. Johnson

33 Days by LA author and former 80′s indie rocker Bill See

Girl in Translation, the bestselling debut novel by Jean Kwok

The Heights, the bestselling book by novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Peter Hedges

The Omega Theory by international bestselling author Mark Alpert

Fatal Error by bestselling author J.A. Jance

The Dark Side of Innocence by LA writer and bestselling author Terri Cheney

Golden State, the fresh and entertaining debut novel by local author David Prybil, Barnes and Noble Rising Star Award Winner

A Discovery of Witches by professor of history at the University of Southern California and bestselling author Deborah Harkness

The Meaning of Matthew by Judy Shepard, an activist and co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation

The Ark, the bestselling Internet sensation by Boyd Morrison

The Insider by Reece Hirsch

Changes by Jim Butcher, bestselling author of The Dresden Files

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, former lead singer of The Talking Heads

Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories (now available for Kindle and Nook). Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.

Ban This Anthology! Extremely Dangerous!!!

I wrote the opening essay for this powerful new book called Ban This: The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, edited by SJ Rivera, which was published on July 4th, 2012, is now available at Barnes & Nobles and Amazon.com in paperback from Broken Sword Publications.

Book Description:
WARNING: This book is a weapon. This book is extremely dangerous. This book is explosive. This book is illegal. This book could land you in jail! Broken Sword Publications proudly presents, ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, an unparalleled survey of some the best Xican@ voices of the modern era. Santino J. Rivera, author and indie publisher, introduces readers to the most significant and compelling voices of the Xican@ movement since Message to Aztlán. Selecting the best literature available from barrios coast to coast, Rivera has created an anthology that in itself is an act of defiance to those who would ban books, censor culture and re-write history. This collection reflects both a dynamic and cohesive portrait of modern Xican@ literature – which is American literature. These are the stories for a new generation of revolutionaries. This groundbreaking anthology includes works by Francisco X. Alarcón, Gustavo Arellano, Lalo Alcaraz, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rodolfo Acuña as well as works from many new voices culled from the woodsheds of Neo Aztlán. ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature is a weapon of mass education. These are our stories and they deserve to be heard. This book is a tightly-packed tome of literary rebellion just waiting to be unleashed.

Full list of contributors in alphabetical order:

Adrianna Simone

Alejandro Dennis Morales

Andrea J. Serrano

Annemarie Pérez

Art Meza

David Cid

Deadlee

Del Zamora

Francisco X. Alarcón

Frank Mundo

Frank S. Lechuga

Gina Ruiz

Gustavo Arellano

Hector Chavana Jr.

Jehuniko

Jessica Lopez Lyman

Jim Marquez

Johnathan Gomez

José-Ariel Cuevas

Karina Oliva

Lalo Alcaraz

Lauro Vasquez

Lizz Huerta

Luis Alberto Urrea

Luisa Leija

Maria Cesena

Mario Barrera

Matt Sedillo

Miguel Jimenez

Milo M. Alvarez

Noemi Martinez

Odilia Galván Rodríguez

Phyllis Victoria Lopez

Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez

Rodolfo Acuna

Sara Ines Calderon

Santino J. Rivera

Vincent Cooper

Xicano X

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories.

The Brubury Tales on MP3…and the Bestsellers List

Earlier this year, I won a spoken word poetry contest at The Rapp Saloon in Santa Monica hosted by Don Kingfisher Campbell. The prize was time in the recording studio with producer Barry Schwam to record from my work.

Well, here it is, Selections from The Brubury Tales, which includes Five sections of The Brubury Tales read by me — about 45 minutes of material!

And I’m pleased to report that Selections from The Brubury Tales is still hanging in there at #88 (but falling quickly) on Amazon’s best selling spoken word poetry albums list (it reached #5 yesterday).

Download the MP3 now before it falls off for good

The Brubury Tales is a modern version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles just after the 1992 riots. Also available in paperback and for kindle at Amazon.

Coming soon for Nook.

Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories

Meet local author Rick Lenz and read chapter one of North of Hollywood

Rick Lenz has been a working actor almost all his adult life. His acting ranges from the serious to the comedic, and he has been featured in both starring and supporting roles on TV and in film. In addition to acting opposite many of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars—Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn and Elizabeth Taylor, to name a few—Lenz is a playwright, artist, and now an author of a new memoir called North of Hollywood, a gut-wrenchingly honest account of the actor/playwright’s experiences over the years. Last month, North of Hollywood won first place at the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Festival awards for Biography/Autobiography.

North of Hollywood is just the beginning for this budding new author. Lenz is also planning his first novel called Redeeming Norma Jean. Originally from Michigan and having acted across the country, Rick Lenz lives in North Hollywood with his wife. They are parents to three children, and have recently become proud grandparents.

You can meet Rick Lenz and get signed copies of his memoir North of Hollywood at three local venues this weekend and next week:

5/18/2012            12 PM – 4 PM at Barnes & Noble – Manhattan Beach, CA.

5/20/2012            3:00 PM at Diesel – Brentwood, Santa Monica, CA.

6/07/2012            1:30 – 3:30 PM at Theatre of Arts –

In the meantime, click here to enjoy an excerpt from North of Hollywood by Rick Lenz, which the author has generously shared with readers of LA Books Examiner.

 

Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.

Two New Interviews

Very exciting! I was interviewed twice this week about my books and my life. I’ve posted links to both if you want to check them out

First, I had a Q and A with Jess C Scott about writing, my favorite poets and my novel in verse, The Brubury Tales, which is now available on kindle. (The Brubury Tales made Amazon’s bestseller list #81 in the UK, #40 in Italy, #99 in Spain!)

And, on April 28th I was interviewed by Laura Lme and Cecilia Francisquini on the Verses In Motion Show on GetYourz Radio | Blog Talk Radio. It was recorded live and you can listen to it now.  In the interview I read an excerpt from The Brubury Tales and discussed the book, its inspiration and origin.

Here’s a link to some previous interviews I did with the Cypress Park branch of the LA Public Library and author Susan Whitfield https://frankmundo.wordpress.com/category/author-interviews/

Read Chapter One of The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by AGS Johnson

The 2011-2012 Los Angeles Book Festival awarded The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by Los Angeles author A.G.S. Johnson an Honorable Mention at its annual competition honoring the best of world publishing. If you missed this up-and-coming local author at the book festival earlier this month, don’t worry. You’ve got another chance next week.

On Wednesday, May 2 at 8 p.m., A.G.S. Johnson will be signing her debut novel, The Sausage Maker’s Daughters, at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles at 453 South Spring Street.

In the meantime, learn more about A.G.S. Johnson and read the first chapter of The Sausage Maker’s Daughters below:

About the author
A.G.S. Johnson always intended to be a writer. But raised in a Midwestern family of five girls and no boys, she embarked on a career in the corporate world that would allow her to explore why men were treated differently than women. Armed with a business degree, for over 20 years she was a banker, most often working with international currencies.

Still, writing remained a dream, so she returned to school, earned a masters degree in fiction writing from the University of Southern California and proceeded to pursue her lifelong ambition. Her debut novel The Sausage Maker’s Daughters, 12 years in the making, releases Feb. 7, 2012.

In addition to her passion for reading, traveling and all things French, Johnson serves on the Board of the Council of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, and is a founding board member of The World is Just a Book Away. Proceeds from The Sausage Maker’s Daughters benefit this relatively young charity that builds libraries in developing countries.

Since the late 70’s Johnson has made her home first in Northern California, now in Los Angeles, where the author lives with her husband of 20 years and their menagerie of cats and dogs. She is currently working on her second novel, a medical murder mystery based on a true story of discovery and deceit.

Learn more about A.G.S. Johnson and her work at her official website: AGSJohnsonauthor.com.

About the book
It’s the era of the counterculture and Vietnam. Women’s consciousness is being raised and they’re beginning to find their places outside of the home.

But twenty-four-year-old Kip Czermanski is nowhere near her home in California. She’s in a jail cell in her hometown in Wisconsin awaiting a court appearance in the mysterious death of her ex-lover, who happened to be her brother-in-law.

Since her father is the small town’s leading citizen, Kip isn’t overly worried—at first. But the personal grudge the DA holds for all the Czermanskis is about to find a foil. Kip.

What follows is a wild ride through Kip’s present predicament and her past. Family dynamics and sibling rivalries, magnified by her counterculture attitudes and feminist beliefs, will lay bare Kip’s life before the crowded courtroom, right along with the self-important Czermanskis’ darkest secrets.

Excerpt of The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by A.G.S. Johnson

Read excerpt at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner.

 
Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates to LA Books Examiner.