Male Mary Gaitskill

The original working title of Looking for Trouble was Dad Behavior

Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon: 9781594206108 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books The new novel from Thomas Pynchon Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation busines...

A new Thomas Pynchon in 2025—I’ll admit, the sophomore gags always got on my nerves, and we were never big potheads back in the 80s, but: the man has always had a real knack for timing. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427...

Best case scenario.

Against High Brodernism | Los Angeles Review of Books Federico Perelmuter considers László Krasznahorkai’s “Herscht 07769,” translated by Ottilie Mulzet.

Brodernism—stupid word. But there’s always been something embarrassing about the way critics fawn over these doorstoppers. That said, without all the far-flung world lit in translation the culture would be in a sorry state. lareviewofbooks.org/article/agai...

Not to discredit Lynch. I loved the show, of course. And the first few films, Eraserhead and Blue Velvet in particular… we all loved them.

This is a classic TV trope, isn’t it?

They really should launch an editorial wing. They have the money to pay writers, and who wouldn’t want the exposure?

“Mean girls only ever get away with such a stunt while they’re hot. Like any fad, it doesn’t last forever.” Finally someone hits those two where they live.

The concept of the it girl is baffling. What is it. A girl who does drugs? We used to just call them girls.

This is the thing about Bret: you went to his house because he opened his door knowing people would take advantage of the opportunity. You didn’t go because you were so excited to hang out at his pathetic apartment. Sure, he had drugs. He was a snob from LA.

I went to plenty of these parties. They were a chore. I had much more fun getting up to the same shenanigans at my friends’ apartments on a Tuesday. At least, until those same friends turned into helpless degenerates.

Ten Stories From Wild Publishing-Office Holiday Parties of Yore Today, it’s pizza in the conference room, but back in the day, there was caviar, Champagne, and some questionable behavior.

Is this what passes for decadent these days? People having sex with each other? People using drugs? www.thecut.com/article/publ...

I could take Burroughs one-on-one, I think. But the whole gang? No way.

Have thought about it plenty and I’m fairly certain the ultimate nightmare joint rotation (the word “blunt” was never in our drug vocabulary) would have to be Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Kerouac.

At least one life (the kid’s) could have been saved.

Shame the shooter never followed through with Infinite Jest. Wallace is usually a reliable gateway drug to the ultimate literary chronicle of Gen X manhood: Looking for Trouble, by yours truly.

As always my recommendation to young men (and everyone) is to read A Nancy and A Bruiser (1991) by Male Mary Gaitskill

If anyone at @nytimes.com is interested in answering this question I’d be happy to do the dirty work.

Opinion | The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone What happens if half the population is no longer involved in reading and writing?

Every day someone else is saying this. But who are these guys, really? Not the writers, the red-pilled dolts. Has anyone sat down with any of them? What are they actually like? www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/o...

Foster Wallace and Steely Dan—two flavors that do NOT go together.

Up until about ten years ago you would be “on the phone.” Now you’re “on a call.” Ridiculous.

There are some good questions here, if I might not answer them all the same way. Regardless it’s worth the read for the savvy debunking from Kenner and the perfect dismissal of Barney as “high on his own supply.”

This is the only reason I read books.

This could actually be useful. Fewer bad manuscripts clogging up the slush pile at real publishers and agencies.

He Bungled the Literary Scoop of the Year. Now He’s Ready to Explain Himself. An interview with the Vanity Fair writer whose astounding revelations about Cormac McCarthy went viral for all the wrong reasons.

This kid’s nothing but a wannabe so far, but—there’s no denying this kind of up-your-own-ass insouciance is what many great novelists are made of slate.com/culture/2024...

What is this supposed to mean, exactly?

Maybe I met Dave once or twice. I definitely never intuited any of what’s documented here in person. But in his work… that’s a different story.

A Heartbreaking Rift of Staggering Intensity: Toph Eggers on His Estrangement From Brother Dave Introduced to millions as the kid in Dave Eggers’ 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,' Toph re-emerges to reclaim his tragic family history and explain why his famous sibling is no longer a pa...

All authors are narcissists, but it takes a special kind of narcissist to use literature—and your family—to build your own commercial empire www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/ar...

Well… the hordes have come for me before.

Two marquee male names in American fiction tarnished in one week… will I be next?!