Remember True Identity?

That’s right, the 1991 film where British comedian Lenny Henry played a black man who, in order to evade mob hitmen, runs for his life disguised as a white man. After that, well, Henry’s had a huge career in the United Kingdom. But his narration of Neil Gaiman’s new novel, Anansi Boys, may give him a second shot at American stardom…cult stardom, to be sure, but that’s nothing to be sneezed at. (Just look at all the hoopla earlier this week when people thought Courtney Love was having Alan Partridge’s baby…). Gaiman’s just posted Henry’s reading of the opening scenes on his blog. Now, if the next book could be read by Harry Enfield, please?

And I realize it’s a bit of a leap from the comedy True Identity to seriously true identities, but I’m impressed with the recently discovered (by me, anyway) (En)Gender, a blog run by Helen Boyd, author of My Husband Betty. It’s well-written and lays out an informative mix of queer and trans issues with personal perspective and well-chosen interviews.

25 August 2005 | uncategorized |

In the “Those Who Can, Do” Department

I don’t know too much about The First Post, which sort of looks like a British version of Salon, but their first lead story is an interview with John Irving, or rather a partial transcript of a conversation between Irving and Radio 4’s Sarah Montague. Now, I’ve noted some awfully bad reviews for Until I Find You, as I’m sure you have, but Irving’s not worried:

“I’m not really concerned about book reviewers. They don’t write books themselves… People who don’t write them can’t tell me how to do it.”

Fair enough, then, but what does Irving do when confronted by a reviewer who does write books? His reaction to Marianne Wiggins’ criticisms has been widely reported, of course, but did he learn anything from the negative assessments of April Bernard and Adam Mars-Jones?

24 August 2005 | uncategorized |

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