At a book event earlier this year, US author Sigrid Nunez laughingly recalled a graduate student of hers who had read all her novels and had one question to ask: Did she make some of that stuff up? It's the same anecdote repeated by Nunez's narrator in her latest and characteristically genre-defying book, The Vulnerables. And it is delivered with a knowing wink. "Some writers use pen names so that they can be more truthful," she says. "Others, so that they can tell more lies."
The great pleasure for the reader is that this celebrated writer is a master of both. The Vulnerables isn't memoir, even though much of it reads like one. It's the third in a series of novels in which a narrator not unlike Nunez - a writer of a certain age who lives alone in New York meditates on love, loneliness, loss and, of course, the act of writing.
Denne historien er fra November 11 - 17, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra November 11 - 17, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.