So happy to share my thoughts on Nell Zink’s The Wallcreeper in this month’s issue of Numéro Cinq. This novel is really taking off, and the attention is well-deserved, even if it does feel a little like having a favorite indie band suddenly embraced by the mainstream.
Also, I’m now senior editor at NC. The rumors are true: I’m sleeping my way to the top.
My time at Numéro Cinq stretches back close to three years now, which is kind of crazy, since I still feel like the new kid on the block. Anyway, I’ve hung around long enough that the powers that be (read: Doug Glover) decided to feature some of my writing in the “Top of the Page” slideshow accompanying this month’s issue. I’m super grateful for this, and I think DG chose some nice pieces to revisit. Click on through to read a little blurb about me, and visit the home page to see some of my older reviews, author interviews, and stories.
I wrote a little review of Vanessa Blakeslee’s excellent story collection, Train Shots, for the equally excellent Vol. 1 Brooklyn. See it, read it, consume it right here.
In this month’s issue of Numéro Cinq, I talk about Ingrid Winterbach’s excellent The Elusive Moth. Though recently released by Open Letter, the novel was originally published in the 1990s and focuses on a woman living in a small South African town. The timeliness of Winterbach’s overarching themes—gender disparity; corrupt, powerful police—is quite chilling, and there are moments throughout reminiscent of recent events here in the US. One can’t help but feel the echo of Ferguson, MO when reading scenes of police lieutenants attacking innocent people, or when hell breaks loose the moment the marginalized attempt to take a peaceful stand. Amazing, brilliant, heartbreaking stuff.
Benjamin Woodard 