Episode · The Book Review · 2015-08-14
Vu Tran on The Book Review: books mentioned
Inside The New York Times Book Review: Vu Tran’s ‘Dragonfish’
Gilbert Cruz discussed Dragonfish by Vu Tran. Vu Tran discussed The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Alexandra Alter discussed Let Me Tell You by Shirley Jackson and others. Pamela Paul discussed A manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin. John Williams discussed A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. Greg Cowles discussed Magic shifts by Ilona Andrews, Deadly assets by William E. Butterworth III, The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman, Pinball, 1973, Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami, Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami, Alert by James Patterson and others, Voices in the ocean by Susan Casey, My Fight / Your Fight by Ronda Rousey and others, and Plunder and deceit by Mark R. Levin and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Dragonfish
Discussed“Vu Tran will join us to talk about his debut novel dragon fish”
Where to get it
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The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that explores the Vietnam War and its aftermath through the eyes of a communist spy of mixed French and Vietnamese descent living as a refugee in America.
Discussed“like I said you know vit Tang win uh I was a I had a student go to one of his readings you know his novel The sympathizer and and he had called it growing up and feeling as though he was a kind of spy”
Where to get it
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Let Me Tell You
Discussed“one recent example is let me tell you a collection of 56 short stories and other pieces by Shirley Jackson who died in 1965 and is probably best known for the lottery”
Where to get it
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A manual for cleaning women
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin is a celebrated short story collection that showcases the author's remarkable talent for capturing the grit, humor, and dignity of everyday working-class lives.
Discussed“Ruth Franklin joins us now to talk about Lucia Berlin's selected stories a manual for cleaning women”
Where to get it
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A Man Called Ove
A Man Called Ove is a bestselling novel by Swedish author Fredrik Backman that tells the story of a grumpy, isolated widower whose routine-bound life is disrupted by new neighbors.
Discussed“two people on Twitter mentioned a book called a man called ove by Frederick bman which I hadn't heard of Dave Brown said that it will be hard to beat as my favorite book of the year”
Where to get it
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Go Set A Watchman
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee is a novel written before To Kill a Mockingbird that follows an adult Scout returning to Maycomb, Alabama, and confronting her aging father's complex racial views.
Discussed“there were a couple of people who Lori Jackson and Kristen Pounders among them who named Harper Le goetta Watchman as their favorite read this summer which I found interesting since it's had such a divided response”
Where to get it
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Magic shifts
Discussed“the new fiction titles are magic shifts by Alona Andrews fans know there is no Alona Andrews there's and Drew Gordon and Alona Gordon a husband and wife team who write urban fantasy together and this is the eth book in their Kate Daniels series”
Where to get it
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Deadly assets
Discussed“uh then at number 13 deadly assets by web Griffin and his son William E Butterworth ivth this book is the 12th in their badge of honor series about the Philadelphia PD”
Where to get it
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The Marriage of Opposites
Discussed“then new at number 11 Alice Hoffman the Boston area magical realist has a novel called The Marriage of opposites it it does incorporate some magical realism some folklore uh mostly it's a historical novel set on St Thomas um that looks at the impressionist painter Camille pisaro in his youth um and his mother then”
Where to get it
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Pinball, 1973
Discussed“then at number eight an unacknowledged forbear of the urban fantasy genre maybe Haruki murakami whose pros of who mixes hardboiled Pros with uh these other worldly events uh is on the list with a book that's really two books um his first two novels published in Japan in the 70s and never before released uh in the United States”
Where to get it
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Wind/Pinball
Discussed“then at number eight an unacknowledged forbear of the urban fantasy genre maybe Haruki murakami whose pros of who mixes hardboiled Pros with uh these other worldly events uh is on the list with a book that's really two books um his first two novels published in Japan in the 70s and never before released uh in the United States”
Where to get it
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Hear the Wind Sing
Discussed“then at number eight an unacknowledged forbear of the urban fantasy genre maybe Haruki murakami whose pros of who mixes hardboiled Pros with uh these other worldly events uh is on the list with a book that's really two books um his first two novels published in Japan in the 70s and never before released uh in the United States”
Where to get it
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Alert
Discussed“and then finally the last new title on the list this week is by James Patterson and Michael ledwidge they are the team who brought us a zoo uh but before that uh Michael ledwidge was James Patterson's co-writer on the Michael Bennett series about the NYPD uh they are back with the eighth book in that series it's called”
Where to get it
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Voices in the ocean
Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey is a captivating non-fiction work that explores dolphin intelligence, consciousness, and the extensive history of human research into cetaceans.
Discussed“um down at number 13 the science writer Susan Casey has a book called voices in the ocean uh which looks at Dolphin intelligence dolphin Consciousness and kind of the history of dolphin research”
Where to get it
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My Fight / Your Fight
Discussed“at number five the mixed martial artist Rondo Rousey uh has written a biography called my fight your fight that book actually was published in May and it's um made big inroads on our monthly sports list”
Where to get it
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Plunder and deceit
Discussed“The Talk Radio host Mark R Len has a Hot Blooded libertarian Manifesto plunder and deceit”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (17) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“vran is the author of dragon fish reviewed this week in the book review by Chris AB”
“one recent example is let me tell you a collection of 56 short stories and other pieces by Shirley Jackson who died in 1965 and is probably best known for the lottery”
“this week she reviews a manual for cleaning women selected stories by Lucia”
“tanassi coats's book between the world and me was mentioned that's a number one bestseller”
“so was Paula Hawkins is the girl on the train which is an ongoing bestseller”
“I heard um also some books that are familiar from the bestseller list all of the light we cannot see the Anthony do”
“um Victoria Adell said she's reading uprooted by Naomi novic um a fantasy novel we reviewed earlier this year”
“um and everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ang who was mentioned several times”
“and Elizabeth gagen a writer herself wrote that a manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin was her favorite”
“another previous podcast book um a God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson was mentioned by hope Dyan and a couple of other people”
“Michael Takens who works in the business said old filth which I finally read after years of people recommending it to me which led to a flurry of responses on Twitter from other writers”
“it's appropriate given the season that a couple of people mentioned William Finnegan's new surfing Memoir Barbarian days”
“and I also saw Americana by chimamanda Nago adich got a number of mentions”
“um and G Greenwell and Cara blue Adams both plugged a little Life by Hana Yan gahara which of course was just named to the long list for the man Booker prize”
“and one last big seller station 11”
“as as a matter of fact she did a book called The Wave that was about rogue waves uh deep out in the ocean”
“new it number one which knocks tanahi coats uh between the world and me out of the top spot down to number two”