Category: Uncategorized
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Recognition of 2 of my novels
Both Too Many Stones and Quiet Desperation were named 2025 notable books of the year by Shelf Media https://shelfmediagroup.com/in-the-media/2025-top-notable-indies/ They are available at Amazon Quiet Desperation on Amazon and Too Many Stones on Amazon which also won the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Award in the Literary Fiction Category. Both Neighbors and Why Belize? my other 2…
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Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller
Some time ago I posted a review of Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. It was a cautionary post that suggested the content, and especially its treatment of women – while always wrong – was now so far beyond the norms of decency that his approach and his writing might be justifiably dismissed. It’s misogynistic, often horrifically…
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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Small Things Like These is another prize-worthy book of fiction. As maybe a unique element, it’s a novella of less than 30,000 words. It was published in 2021 and was cited by the New York Times as a top-rated book and top seller and it was winner or…
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Willa Cather as Soulmate of the Land
O Pioneer by Willa Cather I just finished Willa Cather’s (1873-1947) O Pioneer, the story of Alexandra Bergstrom who at a young age took the reins of their Nebraska farm as her father died. Supported by 3 brothers, 2 of them became farmers under her guidance just as their father had wished. The 3rd brother…
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Ian McEwan’s 2025 Novel: What We Can Know
This novel is described by some as “immersive.” No argument there. But this book is likely going to appeal to a reader of a certain age, (I mean older) and certainly one who reads a lot. The plot centers around Tom and Rose, two academics in what is left of the UK, in 2119. Tom…
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The Dangers of Literary Hero Worship
In a previous post I praised John Updike’s writing and the story he told in his 2006 novel Terrorist. I still hold that all I said then is true. Yet now I’ve just finished his 1996 novel In the Beauty of the Lilies, and I have mixed feelings. With a career that started in the…
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Revisiting John Updike
I just finished reading John Updike’s Terrorist. Written in 2006, the shadow of 9/11 was still great over America. In this novel, Updike follows the development of a religious young man, Ahmed, and his journey toward terrorism through mentors using the words of the Quran that served as grooming by those wishing to punish America…
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The Evolving Nature of Artistic Growth
Many years ago I read Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Empire Falls. It takes place in a small New England town that is well worn and probably going to continue deteriorating. Lots of blue collar class issues and pitiable characters. But the writing is rich and one can’t help but care for the characters.…
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IndieReader Interview with me about Too Many Stones, Winner of Literary Fiction 2025
Here’s a link to the interview with IndieReader as Too Many Stones won the 2025 Discovery Awards Contest in the Literary Fiction category: https://indiereader.com/2025/07/irda-winning-author-rodney-nelsestuen-my-first-short-story-was-written-in-seventh-grade-it-was-a-science-fiction-story-of-how-a-hole-in-the-ozone-layer-was-threatening-to-kill-us-all/
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Martyr, by Kaveh Akbar
I just finished reading Kaveh Akbar’s novel Martyr. My copy of book has more than 25 effusive praises from mostly (but not entirely) east or west coast reviewers. So here again I find the number a bit overstated and feel like the inclusion of all this “doth protest too much.” And yet, not all the…
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