Set against the backdrop of 1980s Houston in the early days of the personal computer revolution, this is a novel about a jailbird's comeback, the lessons provided by fate, and the role of friends – and ghosts. “I had a paperback with me, a ragged copy of Crime and Punishment I snitched from the St. Barth Correctional lending library…” from Houston Instructional, now available on Amazon or direct from Lulu Bookstore. William P. Moore©

Published in 1952, this is Steinbeck’s virtuoso performance. Nearly 600 pages of clean, direct prose colored with history, lyrical geographic description, fully rounded characters, and a story that marches ahead toward the fate of two families in California’s Salinas Valley, the Hamiltons and the Trasks. I came to it looking for an American saga, expecting a novel of broad range over people and time. There is that, but far more. There is a wealth of great reading, along the l

from May 16, 2012 Egan’s short story writing led to the construction of “Goon Squad.” That adds interest to reading this collection of her earlier work. The nine stories keep us engaged, provide excellent writing with precision and imagery, and then close with something of thematic value to consider when we’re done. What more could you ask? For example…the first two are risky and dark, presented with skillful characterization. The first examines a traveler in China with a

Maybe we innately know what “existential” means and have even lived it, and can recognize its flavor and themes in works of fiction. Yet it’s not easy to have an on-the-ready, cogent definition. Reading a few of Sartre’s fiction pieces did not, unfortunately, help me come up with one. I did admire the stark writing and wandering investigations into the meaning of reality. As in Camus, hefty ideas are conveyed by scenes that provoke layered, individually selective (or random

At surface level, the story is entertaining. At another level, it’s visionary and mythic. The book takes place in the Everglades and at times seems mucky and absurd with all the gator show stuff. Then again, after some reading patience, we see that the setting is transcendent, almost like a surreal Macondo village for one small family. At times the environment is genuinely fearsome, a primordial, superstitious land, a veritable hell-hole haunted by the horrors of Indian hist

The Beginning The hardbound book’s impeccable packaging invites us and signals quality. The novel’s opening pages with their lengthy lyrical sentences give a powerful impression that we’re in for something special. Something in the heavyweight league. The exquisite use of language and pace makes me think about how remarkable the audio version of this book would sound. At the onset we get a vivid description of the narrator’s hotel hideout room and a strong sense of his

“Whisky’s okay, but beer is better. It’s a way of life.” – Professor Powell Jones Back in the day in Tidewater, Virginia, Schlitz beer was easily obtainable to those had reached 18. It had a sudsy-salty taste we knew and appreciated, even if the alcohol content was lower at 3.2%. The young Navy sailors liked it in a love-hate sort of way, and so did we. We called it “sea water.” Some years later I lived in South Carolina. On Sundays, you couldn’t get a Schlitz or any othe

Last seen in boots, cape, and scholastic plaid a young woman on the go, not to be had. She wore thick wool hiding her splendor, Choosing to vanish in early November.

In Kushner's latest novel are some of the most captivating passages you will ever read in today's fiction. But, you have to work your way mindfully through Sadie's story to encounter and appreciate them. In the story she's an infiltrator, a provocateur, and independent 34-year old. In the novel delivery itself, she is an intelligent and delightful narrator who can be quite personal. She lets us in on all she's doing. Sadie breaks into the account of a protest movement's gran

I’ll give the author credit for opening the action with two issues that inflame the senses and test the sanity of every South Floridian: dealing with ethnic differences and finding a damn place to park. Within its folds of fat, the book does contain some good writing and entertaining scenes, if only (ojalá que) Wolfe weren’t so repetitious, tedious and hell-bent on the obvious. Narrative takes a backseat to excess, and his snarky novelistic tune about Miami becomes a highly e

HONORABLE MENTION, GLIMMER TRAIN: Earned by “Colorful Whateverisms,” the lead piece of short fiction in “Parts Department,” by William P. Moore. Nine short fiction pieces – a mix of dark humor with a dash of surrealism. Souls adrift, the blues, and the underlying quest for home and happiness. Story 1- Bayberry is a wayward character long-held in a dusty trunk, a figment on faded typing paper. In this short piece, he’s cut to size and freed to the public page, along wit

from 2011 An article I read recently about the state of blogs, i.e., the current condition thereof – dead or alive – uses the term “convergence” to explain the diminishment of blog popularity. Convergence as in the mass uniform movement of users into a web world dominated by the conformist communities of Facebook and Twitter. I wonder. If people have time for hourly chitchat in Immediacy Land, they also have the time to read blogs. But I don’t think they have the intere

A story of excess and alienation set in Houston in the fast pace of the 1980s. This is the re-released 2013 version with a refeshed cover and the original manuscript. Available in paperback or as Kindle on Amazon. Also available direct from the printer/distributor Lulu Press. “My name is Foy Dodge. Some people have mistaken my name for a car dealership and others for a town in Iowa…” Posted as promo and tagged by William P. Moore, Novel from 1980s, Novel in Texas, Novel

The following is my take-away from the March 2013 issue interview with Richard Todd and Tracy Kidder, plugging their new book “Good Prose,” which is ostensibly a book about writing non-fiction. The interviewer claims what the authors say can also be helpful in writing fiction, and certain discussion aspects lean in that direction. In the magazine article, it is fuzzy as to how much the guys were talking about non-fiction as opposed to novels. The reader has to filter and de

The narrative paints an immediate picture of over-the-hill Elroy in his sockless Cole-Haan shoes. Not sure if I’m buying the premise of the amicable come-and-go separation from his wife. She seems to take his gross indiscretions too lightly. Elroy is the proverbial horny college teacher who lusts after his female students, despite knowing where the boundaries are. He even tries to reverse time by twenty years and hang out like he is a student. We are glad that the author’s sk

One of the dust jacket blurbs on the Modern Library hardback version came from Norman Mailer who said he wouldn’t change two words of Capote’s novel. Meaning, obviously, the story is near perfect in every sense. It was no exaggeration. The purity of the writing is like “The Great Gatsby,” a novel in which every word and every sentence rings true and exudes a smart sort of elegance. Old Norman also said “Breakfast” was destined to become a classic, and maybe it has, though th

If polar opposites co-exist and are part of the order of things, then there is no surprise to find the extremes of clarity vs. ambiguity in a person’s writing. A story can have an ambiguous ending, one that effectively leaves the reader uncertain of a dramatic outcome. But that’s not what I mean. I mean in the sense of language and composition. Strings of words, whether prose or poetry, can make perfect sense and at the same time evoke ambiguity. On the other hand, word

from SEPTEMBER 2012 Down and out hubbie goes to Ft. Myers on Florida’s west coast, or more specifically to some sort of undeveloped and run-down cracker Gulfcoastal area. There are shitty motels and a pastoral beach where the wind is wild and cows can show up. The community has a few strange souls with dangerous idiosyncrasies: deranged Viet Vet, pancake fetishist, man named Minnie. Dueling divorcee’s can drive cars fast and do stunt tricks on the highway with immunity. The

from JULY 2012 So the editor and publisher chose an unfortunate title: “How to Write Killer Fiction.” There are sections in this book that are much more sophisticated than that. And in fact, they contain material that is subtle and artful and difficult to find anywhere else. Not without a lot of wading anyway. Carolyn Wheat presents things to us in a straightforward way. It’s not entirely a book about how to write murder mysteries and suspense novels. In fact, I skipped ov

The location and title of every book in my palatial office is fixed in my memory. Sometimes I give them a cutesy nonsensical associative phrase to help me remember. Like, Norman Mailer’s hardback is rubbing against Amy Hempel’s front matter. Sure I do. Not. I forgot to say that this book about memory training is not in my collection. I had the good sense to check it out of the library rather than spring for it on Amazon. And remembered to take it back nine days before it