“He couldn't tell her that what he wanted now, more than anything, was to fall asleep beside her. No touching, no kissing, no stimulation. No sensation, no consciousness. Just the act of sleeping beside someone you liked to be with. Maybe that was love.”

—Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings

“We do seem, as a culture, to fetishize the “sweep.” But I know there’s room for “big” short, fierce novels, and “big” solid ones. Objectifying your own novel while writing it never really helps. Instead, I guess while you’re writing you need to think: This is the novel I want to write. And when you’re done you need to think: This is what the novel I wanted to write feels like and reads like and looks like. Other people might call it sweeping or small, but it’s the book you chose.”

—Meg Wolitzer, in conversation with Jennifer Gilmore

“...men, with very few exceptions, won’t read books about women. Something nebulous and thought-based—a book of ideas—people seem much more willing to have that from a man than a woman.”

—author Meg Wolitzer

This Week's Readings

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In light of this nonsense, I’d like to offer a week of events featuring awesome lady writers. (And wouldn’t you know it, there’s SO MANY.)

MONDAY: Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings) in convo with Jami Attenberg (The Middlesteins). [WORD]

TUESDAY: Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologue) on her memoir, In the Body of the World. {B&N UNION SQUARE]

WEDNESDAY: Whoa, get this:

-Rachel Kushner (The Flamethrowers) [STRAND]

-AND Claire Messud (The Woman Upstairs) [CENTER FOR FICTION]

-AND Marilynne Robinson (Housekeeping) [CUNY]

THURSDAY: Cheryl Strayed (Wild). [PUBLIC ASSEMBLY]

FRIDAY: PEN World Voice Festival: Master/Class with Fran Lebowitz and A.M. Homes. [NEW SCHOOL]

 

“I’d say Wolitzer has written 'a novel of ideas' if said novel weren’t so engaging. (In my household, the phrase, “a novel of ideas,” is followed by an eye-roll. Such books are made for humorless people who don’t like television, candy, and/or dancing.) I read the book in four days, hushing anyone who tried to speak to me as I finished a paragraph or chapter, and laughing aloud at various cafes (yeah, I became that person).”

—Sing It, Sister! On Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings by Edan Lepucki

“It’s about the complexity of maintaining relationships with people you’ve known most of your life but who -- if you met them today -- you maybe wouldn’t have anything in common with, and how you balance those dynamics as people change. I think it’s the best thing of hers that I’ve read so far.”

—Rebecca on The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (Episode 47)

“The problem was that talent couldn't be willed into being. Ethan murmured something appropriate for each drawing he came to. It was like an extremely stressful game show called 'Say The Right Thing, You Idiot.' ”

—

Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings

I couldn’t sleep last night so instead I stayed up with this book. Totally worth it.

Looking Ahead...A Great Big Pile of Awesome

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