Bryan Gruley’s new book adds to his reputation as an Up North noir writer
If you could come up with a phrase to describe the type of writing mystery authors Bryan Gruley, William Kent Krueger, Steve Hamilton and Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli are writing it would be Up North Noir. Gruley’s newest book “The Hanging Tree” which is pure Up North with all its unusual conventions and the charms you can only find in small towns finds his protagonist Gus Carpenter tossed into a decades-old maelstrom.
The following review first appeared in the Lansing City Pulse.
Two words are in the back of the mind of every author after the debut novel is published: sophomore slump.
The above photo is by Kim Krova Gruley’s sister.
At a book signing and reading last year at Schuler Books & Music in Okemos, mystery author Bryan Gruley was asked by a former co-worker from The Detroit News if the thought ever crossed his mind that he had only one book in him.
“He asked that question very innocently,” Gruley said, “but that very afternoon I had turned in the manuscript for my second book to my editor. We both knew it sucked.”
Gruley who won the prestigious Strand Magazine Critics Award for mystery writing and was nominated for the Edgar Award for his first book “Starvation Lake” did what he had to do: He threw out the second manuscript and started over.
“I had my sophomore slump,” he said, “but you won’t get to see it.”
For readers, that was a great decision. Gruley’s second book, “The Hanging Tree,” is a masterpiece of detective fiction, with the right amount of blind alleys that leave the outcome always in doubt. The author, who is the Chicago bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, has topped his first book while capturing the essence of a hockey-crazy Michigan small town.
Gruley retained his “Starvation Lake” protagonist, Gus Carpenter, a small town newspaper editor and now amateur detective, who returned to his hometown to regroup after a major league scandal at his former news job.
Gruley said what was missing in the discarded manuscript was “heart,” and he set out to find it by rereading his own book and then two books by noted mystery writer Dennis Lehane (“Gone, Baby, Gone,” “A Drink Before The War”). Gruley, who is also a dedicated amateur hockey player, d i s c o v e r e d from his reading that he had forgotten to tell stories.
In his “real” second book he details the tragic story of Carpenter’s second cousin, Gracie, a hometown girl who leaves for the big city, returns home 20 years later and then, six months later, ends up hanging from a tree. Was it suicide, or was it murder? For Carpenter, who was like a brother to Gracie during high school, solving the mystery becomes a personal mission.
Along with the dramatic tension, Carpenter’s love life is cranked up a bit in this second book, His rekindled relationship with his high school sweetheart, Darlene, also a deputy sheriff, is complicated when her estranged husband, a hockey nemesis of Carpenter, shows up to reclaim his wife.
This isn’t the only new development in Carpenter’s life: A newspaper story he wrote about a proposed new hockey rink in Starvation Lake divides the town and threatens his job.
Although the hockey action takes something of a back seat in his second novel, there’s enough on-ice and off-ice chicanery (and an appearance by the Zamboni) to satiate hardcore fans. But the unraveling of Gracie’s life and her untimely death on the community’s hanging tree is center ice.
Gruley said an actual “Hanging Tree” — covered with twisted shoes, boots and tennis shoes — on U.S. 131 near Kalkaska was the inspiration for the story. He first saw the tree while on assignment for The Wall Street Journal.
Although Carpenter does take one detour downstate to piece together Gracie’s former life, Gruley deftly creates a sense of place of the northern Michigan he knows and loves. Not only does Gruley’s father still have a cottage in the region, but early in his newspaper career Gruley worked at an Antrim County Weekly newspaper.
Starvation Lake may be a fictitious place, but it fits the description of hundreds of towns and cities in northern Michigan. And when Gruley focuses on the people who inhabit Starvation Lake he is at his best. He puts you in a seat at the local diner right alongside all the characters who inhabit it.
The book tour for his new book starts next week, and Gruley is looking forward to it: “I love good questions and I love talking about the book.”
Gruley is an accomplished writer both in his day job and in his new fiction career. He led a team of reporters on a post-Sept. 11 Wall Street Journal feature that won a Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category. His 2003 feature, “War Stories,” was an alternate finalist for the feature writing Pulitzer.
Gruley won’t be in the Lansing area for awhile, but he is sharing a panel with two other “Northern Noir” writers — Steve Hamilton (“A Cold Day in Paradise”) and William Kent Krueger (“Heaven’s Keep”) — at the Kerrytown BookFest in Ann Arbor on Sept. 12.
´The Hanging Tree´ by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster) In stores Tuesday, Aug. 3 www.bryangruley.com www.thehangingtree.com
Mr. Greenjeans takes a break to read
I found Mr. Green
jeans today all by himself sitting in the shade and enjoying a book in a “secret” garden near the Radiology Building on the campus of MSU. When I asked him what he was reading he said, “a book by the Bailey guy”.
He told me he preferred him to a “new age” guy named Pollan.
The secret garden wraps around the Radiology Building which is at the far East of MSU’s Campus just off Service Drive. You have to look for it. There are no signs. I first discovered the garden with beautiful flowing waterfalls and a mid-summer eruption of blooming plants two years ago with MSU grad and author Jim Harrison (he has a nose for these things). I later tracked the garden’s origin down and found that Dr. E. James Potchen, who chairs the Department of Radiology donated this garden as a place for patients who are visiting the center to go and get away from the tremendous stresses they deal with.
It is a spectacular addition to the MSU Horticultural gardens and a great place to go to relax and read a book. Thank you good doctor.
New book by former Lansing resident and actor features several interesting love triangles
The following review ran first in the Lansing City Pulse. This book may disturb some readers so consider it carefully. It has an edge, but that’s what makes it worth reading. The characters are not lovable (except the cow); they are violent and all-around jerks, but author Thom Vernon has injected several unusual twists into what could be considered a typical dysfunctional family novel: The cover of “The Drifts,” which features a photo of a pretty doe-faced calf, should be a tip off.
This book is not about animal husbandry, even though an animal and a husband are central characters in Vernon’s first book — and an active part of one of the love triangles.
Vernon is originally from Lansing and now lives in Toronto. He´ll read from his novel at Schuler Books and Music on July 29.
Some of the plotlines may be over the top, but Vernon uses them to convey the central themes of stereotyping, outsiders and survival. The book, set in rural Arkansas during a blizzard, finds the characters not only confronting their demons, but also committing acts of violence.
“The book is basically about how hard people will fight to get what they want,” Vernon said.
There’s Julie, the middle-aged pregnant housewife; Charlie, her husband, with an atypical lover; Wilson, a factory worker who had an affair with Charlie, but now finds she is in love with the transvestite Dol, who can’t afford a sex change. And then there’s the cow.
According to Vernon, the characters aren’t all that likeable and the situations they deal with aren’t very much fun, either. Abortion, job loss, cheating spouses and a failing health care system all find their way into the action. Maybe that’s what makes them so nasty.
“The themes so much come out of gender roles and the struggles they have creating the life they want,” Vernon said.
Not only is the plot of “The Drift” unusual, its complexity is compounded by Vernon’s use of first-, second- and thirdperson voices, along with unusual punctuation. In Charlie’s case, punctuation is nearly non-existent. His dialogue just runs on.
“If you put periods in there you keep the reader out,” Vernon said. “When people are angry, they just run on.”
Vernon’s manipulation of traditional punctuation is not unpleasant and the regional dialogue he uses is believable. His writing becomes a blend of his favorite writer, Proust, with Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson thrown in for flavor.
Since his book is set in Arkansas and is filled with dark, brooding characters who, as Vernon says, “do pretty dreadful things,” it’s not unexpected that the writing style and themes also draw heavily on the short story writer Flannery O’ Connor, who was noted for creating what is called “Southern grotesque” writing.
How Vernon got to Toronto from Lansing is almost as unusual as his book. While in Lansing he was active in the Okemos Barn Theatre and the Lansing Civic Players. After stops at Michigan Technological Institute and Michigan State University, Vernon made his way to Chicago to study theater and then moved to Los Angeles, where he appeared in films like “The Fugitive” and in the TV series “Seinfeld” and “Grace Under Fire.”
By the time his acting career was getting underway, Vernon said he became bored and, in 1994, he turned to writing. He also met his partner, Vinjab, in Los Angeles in 2000, and that’s where the long path to Canada began.
Vinjab is from Zimbabwe and was not a U.S. citizen. After Sept. 11, Vernon said it became very difficult for Vinjab to stay in the country and, since the U.S. doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages for naturalization purposes, they looked elsewhere. In 2005, Vinjab was accepted as a refugee by Canada. Vernon — who calls himself a “queer refugee” — moved to Canada the following year.
Vernon said the themes in “The Drifts” reflect many of the battles he has had to fight to find a home for himself and his partner. He believes his book includes messages about human rights, gender and identity and queer rights.
Vernon got his master´s at the University of Southern California, whose writing program taught him to stay out of the story. “It’s not my job to approve or disapprove, but rather to let the readers enter the situations.”
Vernon said there are several things he wants to do when he returns home to Lansing for a visit.
“I want to run on the Riverwalk,” he said. “It’s just beautiful. And walk in Scott’s Woods and go to a Lugnuts game.” He said he remembers when Trammp’s Disco was located on the site of the new stadium.
Vernon said his siblings in Lansing have read the book and, although the book is not autobiographical, it does contain some situations his family recognizes.
“I am me,” he said. “I am who I come from.”
Thom Vernon will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 29 at Schuler Books & Music 2820 Towne Center Blvd., Lansing www.thomvernon.com americanrefugee.wordpress.com
Three Kerrytown Bookfest authors garner attention
Three authors appearing at the Kerrytown Bookfest have recently garnered some major attention. Kristina Riggle’s second book “The Life You Imagined”; William Kent Krueger’s “Vermillion Drift” and Deborah Diesen’s “The Pout Pout Fish in the Big Deep” were on some lists this week.
Riggle’s book arrived in the mail from Avon with the notation it was an Indie Pick for September 2010. In her book, three high school characters arrive in their home town unexpectedly and must weigh in on their high school dreams. Riggle will be on the panel “Michigan Lit” along with National Book Award finalist Bonnie Jo Campbell, Wendy Webb, and Michael Zandoorian. They will be interviewed by Eric Olsen.
Deborah Diesen, who will conduct a session at the 8th Annual Bookfest called “sing and read along”, had her newest book “The Pout Pout Fish in the Big Deep” reviewed in Publishers Weekly. They called her book “a spirited tale with light doses of humor”. Indeed it is. Her most recent book the “Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade” was reviewed by this blog. Diesen is from Grand Ledge Michigan and her newest book is a sequel to the “Pout Pout Fish”.
William Kent Krueger will join other mystery authors Steve Hamilton, and Bryan Gruley on a panel moderated by Craig McDonald. The panel will focus on what is being called “Northern Noir”. Krueger’s most recent book “Vermillion Drift” is the 10th novel featuring Minnesota PI Cork O’Connor and the discovery of six bodies in an old mine sets Cork on a course of a complex case. Publishers Weekly called the book “a thrilling read” and said the book “succeeds on every level” (no mine pun intended”.
All three of these authors will certainly be heard at the Kerrytown Bookfest which takes place in Ann Arbor Michigan on Sunday September 12. The Bookfest is one of the most successful single day book festivals in the country and this year the free event feature authors with a “bent” for Michigan. The event is free. A complete schedule of authors and events is available at the Kerrytown website.
NMU seeking Native American stories, art for new book
The Northern Michigan University Center for Native American Studies has issued a call for submissions for a book featuring literature and art focused on contemporary American Indian experience in Michigan.
The Center is seeking original and unpublished poems, short stories, creative non-fiction essays, memoirs, profiles, photographs cartoons and comics that depict a contemporary Native American experience in Michigan.
Topics can include the land, the lakes, family, storytelling, the urban Indian experience and sacred place experiences among other topics. Anyone chosen to have their work included in the collection will get two free copies of the book which is tentatively titled “Who We Are Now”. Manuscripts of up to 4000 words or 12 pages, poems, or images (limit three) in either color or black and white should be mailed or emailed to:
Grace Chaillier, project coordinator, Who We Are Now
NMU Center for Native American Studies
1401 Presque Isle Avenue
Marquette Michigan 49855
John King Books having a firesale sort of
The venerable John King King Books in Detroit has garnered himself some media attention of late with what he is calling an “Everything Must Go Sale” at his two satellite stores in Ferndale and near Wayne State University. His downtown Detroit store which is the flagship with more than 1 million books is not having a sale.
King has been telling the Associated Press and other media that the internet is killing business. He pointed to pricing for older books that hovers around $8. And of course Google has millions of older books available for free so why pay for a story about a whale when you can get it free.
King told the AP that if didn’t move inventory he wasn’t sure what he would do.
It’s a day to celebrate Ernest Hemingway’s birthday
On the eve of Hemingway’s birthday it was perfectly fitting to visit with Michael Federspiel author of “Picturing Hemingway’s Michigan”. Michael was at the Delta Township Library to discuss his new book and tell the guests about the 22 summers the young Hemingway spent in Michigan around the Little Traverse Bay area of northern Michigan.
Michael’s book and the slide show he used to complement his talk contain little known or never seen photos of Ernest and the Hemingway family vacationing at Walloon Lake. Many of the scenes in the photos would later show up in Hemingway’s books and short stories.
One reason that so many photos of the family exist is Hemingway’s mom was an early scrapbooker and compiled albums for each of the five children. Although there are duplicate photos in the albums they each differ in that the Hemingway children’s mother, “Grace”, wrote individualized descriptions of the photos. Ernest’s five volume set of personal scrapbooks reside in the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.
In chatting with Michael before the meeting I told him about a new Craig McDonald mystery which has a Hemingway theme. He said, “Hemingway is now in more books (fiction) than he ever wrote”.
If you get a chance to see the presentation by Federspiel it is well worth your time. He walks you through three topic areas that help provide perspective on the adult Hemingway and the influence of “Up North” on the writer. First, he answers the question about why Petoskey and Walloon Lake and what drew the Hemingway family to the area. He then moves into the 22 summers that Ernest spent there and finally looks at how those summers would later influence his writing.
Hemingway may be larger than life but it’s unlikely that there will be any celebration in Petoskey today commemorating the time he spent in the area. You’ll have to go to Cuba, Oak Park, Illinois or Key West for those festivities. Afterall, as Federspiel said, “Hemingway was a fudgie”.
The Oak Park newspaper today carried an article about a visit to Hemingway’s home in Cuba that was written in 1980 which is as illuminating today as it was then. The article also has a link to some rare photos of Hemingway in Cuba. Also, be on the watch for information about the annual meeting of the http://www.michiganhemingwaysociety.org/ which will be held in Petoskey October 15-17, 2010. This year’s theme will be “Dining at Hemingway’s Table” and the featured speaker will be Valerie Hemingway, the daughter-in-law of Ernest Hemingway. The International Hemingway Society will meet in Petoskey in 2012.
Idlewild Michigan to host writers’ conference
Detroit-based Aquarius Press and Broadside Press is hosting the first Idlewild Writers and Poets Conference in Idlewild, Michigan. The community was once known as the “Black Eden” from 1912 through the mid-1960s, and was the premier entertainment and leisure resort for America’s top black performers, including Della Reese, Jackie Wilson, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin and Bill Cosby.
“We know the great performing arts history of Idlewild, but most people do not know about its great literary tradition,” says Heather Buchanan, owner of Aquarius Press and conference co-sponsor. “They will be surprised to know that NAACP co-founder W.E.B. DuBois stayed there and wrote about its beauty, and famous Harlem Renaissance writer Charles W. Chesnutt had a home there that is now a tourist attraction.” Idlewild was added to Michigan’s Literary Landmark sites in 2008.
The writers conference will bring together some of the top African American literary talents from across the country to provide workshops and mentoring for aspiring writers. Guests include Pushcart and American Book Award nominees Dr. Randall Horton and Tara Betts from New York and Quraysh Ali Lansana, Director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center in Chicago. The conference also coincides with Idlewild Week, a week-long community celebration that draws visitors from across the country.
The Idlewild Writers & Poets Conference is Thursday, August 12-Saturday, August 14, 2010. Regular registration starts at $65 for the entire weekend, and one-day registration is $22 per day. The conference includes public readings and a book fair. For more information, visit www.idlewildconference.homestead.com, email aquariuspress@gmail.com or call 877-979-3639. Thanks to the Motown Writers Network for providing the information in this blog
Burton Michigan publisher checks in with the horror genre
Subterranean Press of Burton Michigan a small independent publisher that prints up to 60 books a year was recently recognized in a series of articles appearing in Publishers Weekly on H.P Lovecraft, a literary icon who helped define the horror genre and American gothic writing. Authors as distinctive as Stephen King and Peter Straub have acclaimed his writing genius.
In a sidebar article Subterranean was cited as a small independent publisher which is carrying on the tradition of horror and fantasy. The company typically does limited edition print runs numbering around 250 including authors such as Ray Bradbury and Peter Straub.
The company was also mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article on the author Fritz Leiber who is consider a genius of early horror writing. Leiber cites Lovecraft as one of his influences. The WSJ reported that Subterranean will publish a compilation of work never before published called “Strange Wonders”.
