Book Notes ‘Surveillance’ tells Orwellian story of Seattle
Seattle author Jonathan Raban, always the provocateur, is stepping into George Orwell country.
Raban, the British-born author of the nonfiction book “My Holy War: Dispatches from the Home Front,” has taken his antipathy toward the Bush administration into the realm of fiction.
“Surveillance: A Novel” (Pantheon Books, 258 pages, $24), which will be officially released on Wednesday, tells the story of a Seattle in the not-too-distant future in which, according to the literary review journal Booklist, “the government keeps citizens in a perpetual state of frenzied fear by staging ever-more elaborate drills featuring professional actors portraying victims of some imagined attack.”
At the center of Raban’s story is Lucy Bengstrom, a freelance writer who begins to suspect that the author she is interviewing is a fake. Pretty soon, she starts to see the troubled truth behind every supposedly normal aspect of contemporary American life.
“An air of suspenseful dread hangs over every page of this intelligent, provocative book,” wrote a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, “and when the end finally rolls in, readers will be stunned and, in some cases, outraged.”
Raban, a powerful and insightful commentator on life in the U.S., has put his skill on good display in such books as “Hunting Mr. Heartbreak: A Discovery of America,” “Bad Land: An American Romance” and “Passage to Juneau: A Sea and Its Meanings.”
Rhymin’ time
I’m already starting to get entries for the 2007 Spokesman-Review Limerick Contest, and some are pretty good.
As I wrote last week, the theme this year (which was provided by Spokane reader Sally O’Brien) is “Spokane – near nature, near perfect: missing the mark – or not! Legends, lunacies and luminaries.”
All standard limerick rules apply. All work must be original, but you can enter as many times as you want. Send entries by e-mail to limericks@spokesman.com, or by post to S-R Limericks Contest, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201-1615.
Deadline is March 5. The judges’ favorites will be printed in the March 18 edition of The Spokesman-Review, and the authors will be invited to read from their works in public at Auntie’s Bookstore on March 21.
Here’s another example of proper limerick form (from Edward Lear):
“There was a Young Lady whose eyes,
Were unique as to color and size;
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And started away in surprise.”
Poems wanted
Sandpoint-based Lost Horse Press is accepting submissions for the 2007 Idaho Prize for Poetry. The overall winner will take home $1,000 plus enjoy publication of his or her book-length manuscript.
All U.S. poets are eligible. Deadline is May 15. For guidelines or additional information, go online at www.losthorsepress.org.
Previous winners include: 2006, Grace Bauer (“Retreats and Recognitions”); 2005, Melissa Kwasny (“Thistle”); 2004, Alvin Greenberg (“Hurry Back”).
Bauer teaches at the University of Nebraska. Her book, “Retreats and Recognitions” (84 pages, $18 paper), has just become available. To order, call (509) 255-4410.
Discounts galore
Greg Delzer, owner of Defunct Books, 123 S. Wall St., wants patrons to know that he is holding what he is calling an “inventory reduction” sale during the month of February.
“Everything in the store will be 40 percent off,” he says, including “books, audiobooks, sheet music, greeting cards, etc.”
For further information, call (509) 624-9064.
Vote for the arts
Part of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s support of the arts for 2007 includes legislation to establish the post of Washington State Poet Laureate.
The bill, HB 1279, which is attracting bipartisan support, would provide for a small stipend and funds to cover expenses for the 2007-09 biennium, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
For more information, go online at www.washingtonpoets.org/poet_ laureate.php.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Book talk
“Valley Readers Group (“In the Deep Midwinter,” by Robert Clark), 7 p.m. Thursday, Valley Hastings, 15312 E. Sprague Ave. Call (509) 924-0667.
The reader board
“Beth Bollinger (“Until the End of the Ninth”), signing, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. today, Auntie’s Bookstore outlet, Spokane International Airport. Call (509) 624-5608.
“Bob Colonna (“Discover the Real You! A Path to Discovery”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.