escutcheon

Swell

My friend Cory Ericson’s debut novel, “Swell” is finally (!) available today. The publisher has put together a pretty comprehensive web site with all the details here.

It has been receiving some great press, but this comment from the head buyer at City Lights Books in San Francisco captures the book as well as anything else I’ve read:

“This is a book about whales, in much the same way that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a book about a travel guide. It riffs on the Norse sagas while creating more of its own, myths so convincing I even wikipediad them. It subverts the shared histories of the peoples of the American northeast and of northern Europe in exactly the same way a William Vollmann book wouldn’t. It is a masterpiece of the comic novel: sarcastic, self- deprecating, Candide-esque, with an absolute love of the English language, especially its poor American cousin. If you’ve ever hoped there would be just one more Douglas Adams novel….”

Swell Cover Art

Cory is the guest blogger at Powell’s Books this week. You can get a feel for his style in this tale of his bare-assed abutter.

I’ve seen a few early drafts, but am looking forward to reading it again in its final form. Good luck Cory!

» Posted: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 | Comments (4) | Permanent Link
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Comments

Hey, under my clothes I am a nudist too! Anyway, I better go check the mailbox to see if my pre-ordered copy has arrived.

» Posted by David S. on October 26, 2011 01:08 PM

Dude! An honorary Islander—-sweet!

» Posted by David S. on October 29, 2011 06:27 PM

Yep - and proud of it. I hope you enjoy the book!

» Posted by Winter on November 1, 2011 04:21 PM

The lot of you need a good old-fashioned beatin’…dutchbags…

» Posted by Timothy K. Ready on January 31, 2012 03:40 AM