New short story: Herman Wouk is Still Alive

[mae]

I'm surprised there's no discussion about this story. To me, it reminded a lot his previous one, Premium Harmony. Both outstanding, literary, gut-wrenching stories.

[EvaH]

Thanks for the links.

[Pasiuk57]

Read it twice
what did you guys think?
I liked the descriptive writing of the moms that were totally down and out and the poet and his wife.
Did anyone think it ended too abruptly? Or was it just right?

[willie3]

Bought the mag today, plan on reading it tomorrow on the plane home.

Karl

[Randall Flagg]

Picked up a few copies today.

[Niels]

Anyone an idea where I can order a copy online, without having to get a subscription?

[biomieg]

Niels, according to Siep the American Book Center in The Hague sells copies so I sent them an e-mail and apparently they do sell the magazine. But I still have to hear from them if they put a copy aside for me.

*edit* I asked my sister to get me a copy, she lives in The Hague. Maybe she can get more than one (if they are available).

[Randall Flagg]

I can obtain and ship copies overseas, but as biomeg will attest-the shipping is ~$12 per magazine. The protective bubble wrap shipping envelope is ~$2. All of a sudden, with no profit it amounts to >$20 per magazine.

[pixiedark76]

Read it twice
what did you guys think?
I liked the descriptive writing of the moms that were totally down and out and the poet and his wife.
Did anyone think it ended too abruptly? Or was it just right?

I thought the ending was just right. If the story went on for too much more, it would not have as much shock. A story like that leaves you feeling like you got sucker punched in the gut. A punch in the gut is usually abrupt.

[Pasiuk57]

pixiedark76
have to agree with you!

[Patrick]

Good, well-written story. Depressing, but a good story. The last couple lines of the story seemed to be the point of it. I think it ended appropriately.

[Bethany]

Damn.

[biomieg]

King continues to impress me. This story hit me hard. Beautiful but very dark.

[Ric]

Good, well-written story. Depressing, but a good story. The last couple lines of the story seemed to be the point of it. I think it ended appropriately.

This is exactly how I felt about it as well. I think King's short fiction is getting better and better.

[herbertwest]

HERMAN WOUK goes italian.

[herbertwest]

Herman Wouk is still alive : nominated in the Bram Stoker Awards, in the "Short fiction" catégory.

Complete list on the HWA's website :
http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=2331

[mae]

http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=2453

At long last, the anticipation is over. The Horror Writers Association announced the winners of the 2011 Bram Stoker Awards™ at its annual awards banquet tonight. This year’s presentation was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the World Horror Convention, and marks the 25th Anniversary of the awards.

Twelve new bronze haunted-house statuettes were handed over to the writers responsible for creating superior works of horror last year. This year’s winners are:

Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION
“Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” by Stephen King (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)

[John Blaze]

Well deserved. Sad story, and so depressing.

[harrison ryan]

An existential horror story. Worse than ghoulies, real life!

[John Blaze]

YES!

[mae]

As if to prove he's still alive, Herman Wouk is publishing a new novel:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jack...-schuster.html

Herman Wouk, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Caine Mutiny," will publish a new novel, "The Lawgiver," with Simon & Schuster, the publisher announced Monday. Wouk, who was given the Library of Congress' first Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction in 2008, will celebrate his 97th birthday in May.

Wouk's long and successful publishing record also includes "Marjorie Morningstar," "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance." His most recent book, "The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion," published in 2010, discussed science and faith. In a release, Simon & Schuster described the upcoming "The Lawgiver":

Mr. Wouk's new book is an epistolary novel about a group of people making a movie about Moses in the present day. The story emerges from letters, memos, emails, journals, news articles, recorded talk, tweets, Skype transcripts, and text messages. "I loved reading The Lawgiver," said [Simon & Schuster Publisher Jonathan] Karp. "Within just a few pages I was captivated, once again in the thrall of Wouk's sharply conceived characters, amusing narration, irresistible command of story, and the wisdom of a lifetime. I found myself marveling at the verve and wit of this great American storyteller, now 96. The insights into Moses have remarkable vitality and depth. His heroine, Margo (‘Mashie’) is a twenty-first century incarnation of one of my favorite literary characters of all time, Marjorie Morningstar."

Karp must have been impressed by the manuscript. When he reviewed Wouk's "An Ache in the Heart" for The Times in 1993, he found something missing. Wouk, he wrote, "is still a master of the historical novel, and -- at nearly 700 pages -- 'The Hope' is a surprisingly fast read. And yet, perhaps it is a bit too fast."

Perhaps Wouk sees that slightly negative review as being in the past -- or perhaps he's looking even further back. "I knew Dick Simon and Max Schuster well," he said in the release. Yes, he means, that Simon and that Schuster. "Few of my contemporaries can make that statement! They brought out my first novel, Aurora Dawn, in 1947, and returning to their imprint after 64 years is an uncommon pleasure."

Simon & Schuster will publish Wouk's "The Lawgiver" this fall.