Ed King by David Guterson. (Knopf, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Ed King

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

David Guterson joins me now. The bestselling author is in town as part of the Cherie Smith Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver Jewish Book Festival. He’s also just published his latest novel, Ed King. It’s described as a story of destiny, desire and destruction, reimagining Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. We’ll get him to tell us more about this book. Mr. Guterson is the author of the novels East of the Mountains, The Other, Our Lady of the Forest, and Snow Falling on Cedars, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award. He’s also written a short story collection The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind, and Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense. He lives in Washington State, where Ed King is set. It’s published by Knopf. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, David Guterson; Good morning, Mr. Guterson.

Once You Break A Knuckle by D.W. Wilson. (Hamish Hamilton, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Once You Break A Knuckle

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

The book is called Once You Break A Knuckle. It’s a short story collection from the author D.W. Wilson. He was born and raised in the Kootenays here in British Columbia, where the stories in this book are set. The stories therein are described as gritty, muscular, and masculine, among other choice adjectives. We see the community that’s depicted through the men in this book: young men struggling; older men struggling too, sometimes with one another. Also examined: friendships, love, and other relationships like those of time and place. We’ll get Mr. Wilson to tell us more about what’s in this book. He’s currently pursuing a PhD at the University of East Anglia, where he was the recipient of the MAN Booker Scholarship there. Recently, he received the BBC National Short Story Award. He’s its youngest recipient ever. I’m just under 30, and he’s younger than I am. This all makes for a strong debut. D.W. Wilson is in town for appearances at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival. The book is published by Hamish Hamilton, which is an imprint of Penguin. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, D.W. Wilson; Good morning, Mr. Wilson.

The Magician King by Lev Grossman. (Viking, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Magician King

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Lev Grossman joins me now. He is in town appearing at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival. He’s the author of the bestselling novels Codex and The Magicians. His new book is The Magician King, which is a sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Magicians, which came out in 2009. In The Magician King we return to the magical land of Fillory, where Quentin and his friends now run the place. They’re bored however and through some doing, they’re brought back to his parents house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. We see both worlds, the magical and fantastic, and the sort of suburban America that we’re more familiar with. We’ll get Mr. Grossman to tell us more about this book, writing it, the worlds of fantasy and fiction that seem to be mainstream nowadays. Lev Grossman is a well-known cultural commentator and a senior writer and critic at Time magazine. His website is at www.levgrossman.com, and the website for the book is at www.themagicianking.com. The book is published by Viking. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Lev Grossman; Good morning, Mr. Grossman.

This Will be Difficult to Explain and Other Stories by Johanna Skibsrud. (Hamish Hamilton, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: This Will be Difficult to Explain and Other Stories

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Johanna Skibsrud joins me again. She’s got a new book out, a short story collection, This Will be Difficult to Explain and Other Stories. There are nine short stories in this collection that are described as ‘wise and querying.’ We’ll talk about what’s in this book and more. It’s been a busy year for Ms. Skibsrud. Nearly a year ago now, she won the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her first novel The Sentimentalists. As well, she’s criss-crossed the country promoting that book, and this one now too. She’s also previously published two collections of poetry. This new book is published by Hamish Hamilton. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Johanna Skibsrud; Good morning, Ms. Skibsrud.

The Cannibal Spirit by Harry Whitehead. (Hamish Hamilton, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Cannibal Spirit

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

There’s a new novel out this week called The Cannibal Spirit. Its author Harry Whitehead joins me now. He worked for many years in the film business, and has degrees in creative writing and medical anthropology, and a PhD from Lancaster University. He teaches at the University of Leicester. He’s in town this week speaking at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival. There’s an event, Wednesday the 19th at 8.00pm. Check out their website at www.writersfest.bc.ca for more information and tickets. George Hunt, who was an assistant to the famed anthropologist Franz Boas, is the central figure in this fictionalised account which looks at Native traditions, anthropology, spirituality, and the chasm between two civilisations in these parts at the turn of the last century. We’ll get Harry Whitehead to tell us about this book, how he came to write it, and more. The book is published by Hamish Hamilton, which is an imprint of Penguin. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Harry Whitehead; Good morning, Dr. Whitehead.

The Man Who Killed by Fraser Nixon. (Douglas & McIntyre, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Man Who Killed

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

The author of a new book that has gotten a lot of good notices joins me now. The Man Who Killed is the first novel from Fraser Nixon. I see that this past weekend, it’s on the bestseller list here in BC. The reviews include some superlatives like the book is “an unqualified showstopper of a first novel,” and “a rip-roaring page-turning thriller.” It is set in Montreal, 1926. Jack, a real colourful rogue, offers the book’s narrator, Mick a job running booze across the border. There’s sex, murder, politics, and celebrity. The era comes alive with Mr. Nixon’s wonderfully stylish writing. We get a sense of the smoke and smell of booze in the air, as well as the sound of the language, the vernacular of the era, which reads so well in this book. Fraser Nixon was born on the West Coast and has lived in Toronto, Paris, and Montreal. He’s an actor, painter, electrical apprentice, and hotel night manager. He has worked in various sales jobs as well. The website for more is at www.frasernixon.com. The book is published by Douglas & McIntyre. Incidentally, Fraser will be appearing as part of the Real Vancouver Writers Series, hosted by our old friend Sean Cranbury, next Monday, the 30th at W2. In Vancouver, please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Fraser Nixon; Good morning, Mr. Nixon.

The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud. (Douglas & McIntyre, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Sentimentalists

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Johanna Skibsrud’s first novel, The Sentimentalists won the 2010 Giller Prize. She became the youngest winner in the prize’s history, and has gone on to great acclaim. The book is about a daughter who after her own drama, decides to live with her estranged father in a fictional Ontario town called Casablanca. There, she draws out her father hoping to understand him better and the horrors he witnessed in Vietnam. It’s a challenging read in that you think about family, fathers, daughters, war, and memory. When the book was nominated for the Giller very few copies of the book could be found, as its original publisher Gaspereau Press had only printed something like less than a thousand copies. I think they’re the only press in the country that prints and publishes their own books. The whole confluence of the current realities of the book trade came together with the critical success of this book. We saw how the small press is coping in the shadow of the big chains. Right after the book won the prize, The Sentimentalists was a big hit electronically. And then Douglas & McIntyre, here in Vancouver, entered the scene when it was licensed the book’s trade paperback rights, thereby ensuring less than 10 days after the Giller Prize win, the book could be had in the tens of thousands. Johanna Skibsrud joins me now from here in Vancouver to tell us more about this book, what winning the Giller was like, and more. The original book can be had through Gaspereau’s website at www.gaspereau.com. And the trade paperback from Douglas & McIntyre can be had at sundry book stores across the land. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Johanna Skibsrud; Good morning, Ms. Skibsrud.

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal. (St. Martin’s Press, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Sweet Valley Confidential

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

I don’t know why it surprised me when people I’d ask about Sweet Valley High immediately recognised it and many loved the series. The popular series of novels for teens has from the 1980s to the early part of the last decade have been selling well as well as beloved. There were over 152 books as part of the series, as well as a spin-off series of novels, and a television show. The creator of the Sweet Valley series Francine Pascal joins me now. She takes us back to the idyllic Sweet Valley in a new book, Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later. The storyline is brought up-to-date as we see the iconic identical twins, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield all grown up now in their late 20s, dealing with seemingly adult issues of love, sisterhood, relationships, betrayal and careers. We’ll ask Ms. Pascal about the new book, the series and more. The book is published by St. Martin’s Press. The website for more is at www.sweetvalleytenyearslater.com. Francine Pascal other than creating the Sweet Valley series, has also written several best-selling books, as well as adult novels and a work of non-fiction, The Strange Case of Patty Hearst. She collaborated on the Broadway musical George M!, and has revised the musicals Carnival and Mack and Mabel. She sits on the advisory board of the American Theatre Wing. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program in New York City, Francine Pascal; Good morning, Ms. Pascal.

The Guardians by Andrew Pyper. (Doubleday, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Guardians

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

The acclaimed and bestselling author Andrew Pyper joins me again. His previous books, all critically lauded include Lost Girls, The Trade Mission, The Wildfire Season, and a short story collection, Kiss Me. His new book, his sixth, The Guardians is already selling well. It’s an engrossing book that I could only read in daylight hours. I get all fraidy-scared easily. Here’s Andrew Pyper from the last time he was on this program. This is from September 2008, when he was on to talk about his previous book, The Killing Circle:

(START CLIP)

PYPER: . . . but eventually, soon, I’m going to have clear the deck of all that stuff because I want to get, you know, fully involved in the next book.

PLANTA: And—may I ask what the next book will be about?

PYPER: Yeah, it’s a—totally different again—the premise is a haunted house story for grownups. Or at least a haunted house story without ghosts. I grew up in a small, smallish town and we had, as I think most small towns a house that was abandoned, that everyone made up stories about. And so it’s an adult story—a story of adults revisiting their childhood and the things that may or may not have happened in a haunted house.

(END CLIP)

It’s a really good book about the childhood friendship of four boys who grow up in rural Ontario connected by a dark, sinister past. The past comes back to haunt them some 20 years later, and tremendously well in this book. The Guardians, other than being a really good thriller, is profound when talking about life and death, growing older, Parkinson’s disease, murder, friendship, and importantly the male friendship variety that’s rarely discussed in fiction or elsewhere. The Guardians is published by Doubleday. The website for more is at www.andrewpyper.com. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Andrew Pyper; Good morning, Mr. Pyper.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. (Anchor, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Imperfectionists

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

Tom Rachman joins me now. The former journalist is the author of the critical and bestselling hit novel, The Imperfectionists. It was a New York Times bestseller and on the long list for the Giller Prize. It’s an astonishing novel about the men and women at an international English-language newspaper based in Rome. Each chapter is the story of a particular character, like the first is on the Paris correspondent Lloyd Burko, while others include the editor-in-chief Kathleen, the corrections editor Herman Cohen, a reader of the paper Ornella De Monterecchi, the publisher of the paper Oliver Ott, among many others. Throughout these stories we get a sense of what’s happening at the paper, and an interesting look at the times. We also have between the chapters, these stories about the background of the paper, its founders, its founding, and more. I couldn’t put this book down, and I didn’t want it to end. It’s a remarkable book, whose rights have already been purchased by Hollywood. Brad Pitt’s production company has optioned the film rights for the book. Tom Rachman was born in London, where he lives, but he grew up here in Vancouver, and studied film in Toronto, and journalism at Columbia. He was a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, and was an editor based in Paris for the International Herald Tribune. www.tomrachman.com is his website. The soft cover is from Anchor Books. In Vancouver today, please welcome to the Planta: On the Line Program, Tom Rachman; Good morning, Mr. Rachman.