Tag: writing
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Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
(Note: Dillard, who died September 15, 2026, published Pilgrim – set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia – in 1975 and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. I first read it within the next couple of years. As full admission, this discussion leaves so much out that I encourage you to read the…
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Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Having just finished Swamplandia! I think I developed an itch as I read, all from the book’s penchant with sweaty detritus. On some level I wanted a shower and hand sanitizer. The fact that Florida swamp water was consumed is disconcerting long after reading it. A girl convinced she’s about to marry a ghost and…
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Playground by Richard Powers
I just completed reading Richard Powers’ latest novel Playground. For those who read his Pulitzer-winning novel The Overstory, Playground is yet another step in creating what might seem a confusing plot from the beginning as very different characters are introduced willy-nilly in the first 75 pages or so. As Overstory brings a wild and wide…
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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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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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Update to Why Belize? Available June 10
My novel Why Belize? is available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and online through Apple books. June 10 delivery. Besides the positive review by Kirkus part of which is on the book’s cover, a review by Readers’ Favorite says in part: Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite “In Rodney Nelsestuen’s Why Belize?…
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Some Links
Here are some links to my books, reviews, and to a couple of literary accounts. You can also download from Apple Books to the app on your Apple device: https://bookfinity.com/reader-type-results-share/Bookworm/Time%20Traveler/Lifelong%20Learner/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/rodney%20nelsestuen/_/N-8q8 Rodney Nelsestuen on Amazon Too Many Stones, A Novel Neighbors, A Novel Quiet Desperation, A Novella Why Belize? A Novel Kirkus Books – Reviews…
