Monday, October 25, 2010

November 9, 2010: Anywhere But Here" by Mona Simpson

This was on a list of books recommended by a writer I met this summer, Coe College writing professor Gordon Menenga. Gordon has an interest in, and teaches workshops in literary "voice," which I guess in no surprise, considering that, before he began teaching at Coe, he wrote Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon monologues.

This is simply to say that I'll be paying attention to the "voice" in this book. This was Simpson's first novel, yet, according to salon.com's review, "Simpson's voice emerged fully formed in this stunningly nuanced portrait of a young girl, Ann, and her manipulative mother."