Walter’s ‘The Zero’ getting positive reviews

Jess Walter’s new novel is getting a lot of attention.

As it should. For one thing, the Spokane author’s previous book, “Citizen Vince,” won the 2006 Edgar Award for best mystery novel.

For another, the new novel, titled “The Zero,” is set in New York in the days and weeks immediately following the events of 9/11.

The attention being directed at “The Zero” is, so far, uniformly positive.

“A deliciously mordant political satire,” says Publishers Weekly. “Like a paranoid ‘Being There,’ ‘The Zero’ is suspenseful, satisfying and unforgettable.”

A “brilliant tour-de-force that’s as heartrending as it is harrowing,” says the literary review journal Kirkus Reviews. “This is the breakout novel of a brave and talented young writer. … though for some, it will seem so uncompromisingly chilling that it will be too much.”

The humor, Walter says, is entirely intentional.

“It’s darkly, darkly funny,” Walter – a former Spokesman-Review reporter – told Spokane-based Associated Press writer Nicholas K. Geranios for a recent story that appeared in newspapers as far away as Adelaide, Australia.

“What they (the publisher) are hoping is it is ‘Catch 22’ about Sept. 11,” he said.

I’m about halfway through the book, which is far too early to make any kind of critical remark. But this much I will say:

Think Kafka.

Look for the book in stores at the beginning of next month.

Book club note

This month’s selection for The Spokesman-Review Book Club is Fred Moody’s 1995 nonfiction study “I Sing the Body Electronic: A Year With Microsoft on the Multimedia Frontier.”

The book is out of print, both in hardback and paper. And as always, this is a problem for some readers, not to mention area bookstores and libraries.

But you can also go to any area bookstore and see if they can locate a copy through their distributors. The book’s ISBN number is 0140176551.

And if they can’t help, there are several used-book Web sites through which the book can be ordered. I found paperback copies on Amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.bookcloseouts.com and even eBay with prices that ranged from 1 cent to $8.76.

By the way, the September read will be “Panda Diaries” (University of Indianapolis Press, $16.95 paper) by Alex Kuo, an English professor and writer-in-residence at Washington State University.

And the winner is …

Grace Bauer, author of the poetry collection “Retreats and Recognitions,” is the winner of the 2006 Idaho Prize for Poetry, which is sponsored by Sandpoint-based Lost Horse Press.

Bauer, the author of a half-dozen other books of poetry, lives in Lincoln, Neb., and teaches at the University of Nebraska, where she is coordinator of creative writing. She was one of five finalists for the Idaho Prize, which was judged by Robert Pack.

Store for sale

Julie Clarke, owner of Clarke & Stone Book Co., is getting out of the bookselling business.

Which is why she’s looking for someone to buy the store. Located in the Globe Building, at the corner of Main and Division, the store – unless purchased by someone – will close its doors at the end of August.

And while she waits for an offer that she can’t refuse, Clarke is holding what she’s calling a “farewell and liquidation” sale of the store’s inventory, which features technical books on building, construction, nursing, engineering, architecture and more.

Store hours are weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call (509) 838-0607.

More Valley history

Florence Boutwell, author of four volumes of Spokane Valley history, announces that the third volume (Arthur H. Clark, $18 paper) has been reprinted and is again available for purchase.

Originally printed in 2003, Vol. 3 includes stories such as “The Indian Wars Gave Liberty Lake an Earlier Name,” “Glover’s Arrival – a Turning Point in Valley History” and “The Man Who Discovered the Aquifer.”

All four volumes are available at various area bookstores, Auntie’s in particular. Call (509) 838-0206.

Book talk

• Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“Life Lessons,” by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, David Kessler), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

•Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” by Alexander McCall Smith), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Literary Freedom Book Group (“The Plot Against America,” by Philip Roth), 1 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

•J.A. Flynn (“Gumboots, Lesson Plans and Hot Rugby Nights: New Beginnings in New Zealand”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.