New Release Spotlight: Human Resources

Human Resources , by Josh Goldfaden

Human Resources is the first collection of short stories by Josh Goldfaden. Goldfaden used alternating satire and sincerity to examine various attempts at meaning and connection among the people of his stories, from a spoiled circle of pompous writers to discontent girlfriends of sell-out artists, and a modern-day clan of pirates to a well-meaning pair of mutually stalking neighbors. In the first story alone, Goldfaden pokes fun at self-congratulating writers—and their search to capture the meaning of life in a rhyming couplet about the moon or the moral struggles of flapjacks—through the eyes of a confused, recently-graduated au pair who finds more answers than any of these 'poets.' Goldfaden's prose manages to be profound without the pretense, heart-felt without being saccharine or melodramatic, and humorous without resorting to slap-stick or one-liners. His knack for subtlety is impressive, and his stories (although whimsical and very readable) do not wrap up in overly neat packages claiming to have the key to happiness. Instead, each of his main characters stumbles through his or her life, gaining small clues which point toward a greater understanding of life while leaving room for more growth and folly.

I particularly appreciate the satirical nature of this highly entertaining book; pretense is ripped to shreds with vibrant, humorous strokes, pointing out how lost most of his characters are. While many of the main characters look to answer a great question in their lives, their moments of revelation do not answer these questions, but show that these are not the right questions to be asking. His characters do not find the resolution they were seeking, but rather they learn a better way of searching for it. This recurring theme could have become formulaic or ridiculous in the hands of a lesser writer, but Goldfaden manages to keep his stories unique and surprising without sacrificing sincerity or the connectivity of the collected work. Human Resources makes a great read in one marathon sitting or broken in convenient, single-story doses.

Review by Julie Franks, Indigo Editing, LLC

Writer's Block

Get Fuzzy is one of my favorite comic strips. When I saw this, I couldn't help but want to share. Enjoy!

Local Events

Thursday, June 7
Cathi Hanauer presents Sweet Ruin
Where: Annie Bloom's
7834 SW Capitol Hwy
When: 7:30 pm
Cost: Free

Thursday, June 7
Jillian Robinson Presents Change Your Life Through Travel
Where: Twenty-Third Avenue Books
1015 NW 23rd Ave.
When: 7:30 PM
Cost: Free

Monday, June 11
Single State of the Union
Where: Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
When: 7:00 pm
Cost: Free

Thursday, June 7
Chris Salewicz on Joe Strummer
Where: Powell's Books on Hawthorne
When: 7:30 pm
Cost: Free

Tuesday, June 5
Joyce Carol Oates
Where: Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
When: 7:00 pm
Cost: Free

Tuesday, June 12
Local Authors Dan Raphael and Jim Shugrue
Where: Broadway Books
1714 NE Broadway St.
When: 7:00 pm
Cost: Free

Good Read Spotlight: Tokyo Cancelled

Tokyo Cancelled, by Rana Dasgupta

The next time you fly, remember to look around the cabin and locate the best storyteller. Should your flight be delayed somewhere between Here and There, you're going to want to know whom to sidle up to for company. Rana Dasgupta would be a fine prospect. In his first novel, Tokyo Cancelled, he tells not one but 13 stories (14, if you count the thin thread tying them together into a "novel"), most of which are fantastical diversions. The kind of distraction that would be especially welcome during an unexpected layover.

Tokyo Cancelled opens with 13 strangers stranded for a night in an airport in the middle of nowhere, a blizzard having interrupted their itinerary. One of them suggests that the only cure for such a situation is stories. By dawn each has told one. The yarns echo traditional fables and fairy tales, with lessons learned and magic exploited. The language is lush, as in one story about a man dying of an odd disease:

There were also white flowers growing out of the hole in Fareed's forehead: flowers like tiny hyacinths growing tightly packed on wiry green shoots that pushed upwards through the sticky layer of blood...

As the details in that passage suggest, a dreamy and somewhat surreal air pervades the airport. A large, unrecognizable arthropod scuttles across the hall; a cat leaps into the airport through an open window and drinks at a bowl of milk set on the floor. These interludes help us suspend disbelief at the idea of strangers actually agreeing to tell each other bedtime stories. Nothing about this airport is normal.

The storytellers sprinkle their tales with elements of their modern lives: mentions of take-out food and biodegradable detergents, commentary on commercialism and wonder cures and the loss of history. Intrigued by these minor clues, the reader is liable to think more about the characters behind the characters--the 13 nameless storytellers. What kind of person would create a velocity map, which plots the movement of bacteria, love, and the sale of prosthetic limbs? Who would imagine the transubstantiation powers of Robert DeNiro's love child and the secret daughter of Isabella Rossellini and Martin Scorsese?

Billed as a novel, Tokyo Cancelled is really a collection of short stories, and Dasgupta ultimately leaves the identities of the 13 speakers a mystery. Traveling is all about short stories: It's impossible to weave a novel out of encounters as brief as those you have in airports, and it's naive to believe people will keep in touch once the story is through.

by Kristin Thiel, Indigo Editing, LLC
Previously published at www.citypages.com.

ForeWord Magazine Announces Book of the Year Award Winners

In a Friday ceremony at the BookExpo America in New York City, ForeWord Magazine announced the winners of the Book of the Year Award, including two Editor's Choice Award winners. To read their full press release or view the winners and finalists, please click here.