Really excited that Gravesend is on Keith Rawson’s best books of 2013 list over at LitReactor. So cool to be included with writers I admire so much – Sara Gran, J. David Osborne, Alissa Nutting, Lindsay Hunter, and Steve Weddle. Thanks so much, Keith.
And Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill retweeted this list to over 2 million followers!
A few years ago, when I was reading for the Yalobusha Review, I got lucky one afternoon when I picked a story out of the stack called “Between Pissworth and Papich.” I was used to putting stories down after two or three pages, getting bored by them or losing track of what was going on, but this one took hold immediately. When I was done, I knew it was not only the best story I’d seen as a reader for the journal but the best story I’d read in recent memory. I was excited to pass it to my friends Burke and Anya (who was Fiction Editor at the time). They read it and had the same reaction. I think Anya accepted it for publication the same day or maybe the day after.
The writer of the story was a guy named Patrick Michael Finn. I tracked down his novella A Martyr for Suzy Kosasovich and loved it. A while after the story appeared in the YR, Patrick and I got to exchanging messages via Facebook. He sent me a copy of his newest book, the story collection From the Darkness Right Under Our Feet (a book you should go get now, if you don’t have it) and thanked me for rescuing “Between Pissworth and Papich” from six years of rejection. I couldn’t believe there were journals and magazines that had passed on such a perfect story. Patrick and I talked about other things: Catholicism, Barry Hannah, X, Hüsker Dü, Willy Vlautin. We had a hell of a lot in common.
Anyhow, all this to say: Patrick’s one of my favorite writers, and he’s got a beautiful personal essay, “Pornography’s Pupil,” up at Trop. Check it out here.
Willy Vlautin’s one of my favorite writers, and The Motel Life is one of my favorite books. I’ve been looking forward to this. I was also worried that they’d run it off the rails somehow.
I’m happy to report that the Polskys did a solid job with it. It’s a very good movie, almost great, and while it doesn’t live up to the book, it’s faithful as hell and doesn’t misfire in any major ways.
A few things I didn’t like/wasn’t sure about:
1. The score. It was intrusive, and I didn’t like the way it worked so heavily in the background like someone breathing all over the movie. It especially bothered me in the flashback scene between Earl and Frank. They just should’ve had Vlautin & Paul Brainard do something instead.
2. The music overall was problematic. Even great songs from Townes Van Zandt and Bob Dylan felt a little out of place. Music is so key in the book, and I feel like that’s totally missing from the film. They had a ready-made soundtrack with Richmond Fontaine’s The Fitzgerald – it would’ve been great to see that used. And we needed some Willie Nelson.
3. I don’t know why they switched Tyson-Holyfield to Tyson-Douglas. Having just read Tyson’s memoir, that stood out as being particularly problematic. I just don’t see anyone betting against an undefeated Tyson – it doesn’t make sense to bet Douglas in the way that betting Holyfield makes sense. It also switches the action from 1996 to 1990, which doesn’t seem right.
4. The place stuff was good but could’ve been better. I didn’t feel Reno as much as I do in the book.
5. The ending is missing something – I’m not sure what, but it doesn’t FEEL like the ending of the book. I won’t be specific in the interest of avoiding spoilers, but if you love the book you’ll know what I mean.
A few things I really liked:
1. Dakota Fanning as Annie James. This surprised me most of all. I thought she was perfect. She had down the feel of the character as Vlautin made her and was exactly what I pictured. And the Polskys handled Annie and Frank’s backstory effectively.
2. Kris Kristofferson as Earl Hurley. Goddamnit, he’s the best.
3. Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff are damn good as the Flannigan Brothers. Dorff is a little old for Jerry Lee, but that’s a minor thing. Hirsch is one of the most consistent young actors around – between this and Prince Avalanche, my opinion of him is even higher.
4. The animation worked. I wondered how they could possibly get that part of the book down – Frank telling stories to Jerry Lee – and I thought that animation was a smart route to go. Reminded me a little of The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.
Overall, the film was way more than I thought it’d be. There’s a certain tension that comes with seeing a book you love adapted. I’m relieved that the Polskys approached it as an act of love – it shouldn’t be lost on us that this sad and hopeful story about brothers was directed by brothers. It’s not a Hollywood whorehouse movie. It’s dark and true and real. Most importantly, it taps into the tone and spirit of the book.
This review of Gravesend from Dave Newman made my goddamn year. It’ll get me through 2014, too. Might just carry me for good.
And thanks to Pearce Hansen for this great review.
Booked Podcast was also generous enough to review Gravesend. Thanks for reviewing it, guys. (And to answer a question raised in the podcast, the neighborhood is pronounced Graves-end.)
Lifting one with Jack Pendarvis and Megan Abbott at City Grocery last night in celebration of Gravesend coming out. Photo by Megan Abbott.
On the balcony at City Grocery with Ace Atkins, Megan Abbott, Jack Pendarvis, and Theresa Starkey Pendarvis. Jack wrote about it on his blog.
1. Gravesend is up on Barnes & Noble (w/ cover art finally but no product details).
2. It should be at Square Books soon.
3. It’s up on Powell’s but they’re currently listing it as a geography book that’s part of a series called “Knowledge & Space” – Trying to get that taken care of now.
4. Disregard Amazon’s claim that it’s not shipping for 3-5 weeks. That’s bullshit.
5. Amazon also keeps trying to list it as a geography book. Yesterday it ranked #19 out of all the geography books on Amazon! A couple of days ago it was listed as part of that same mysterious “Knowledge & Space” series. Got that fixed. Today they listed two editors – Peter Meusburger & David N. Livingstone – who are responsible for the “Knowledge & Space” books.
6. Also on Indiebound, where it’s listed as a geography book and Meusburger & Livingstone get more credit.
The whole Live from KCRW double-LP is stellar, but I particularly love this version of “Far From Me.”
Gravesend is available on Amazon. It’s also available on Barnes & Noble (without cover art or a product description yet, sorry). I’m hoping to be able to point people in the direction of some indie bookstores that are carrying it soon. (It’ll most certainly be at Square Books here in Oxford, MS in the next couple of weeks.)
I’m also running a giveaway on Goodreads. Enter below for a chance to win a copy.
And Fiction Writers Review, where Gravesend is the Book of the Week pick, is giving away three copies. Simply follow them on Twitter (@fictionwriters) for a chance to win one.
Fiction Writers Review made Gravesend their Book of the Week pick. Follow them on Twitter (@fictionwriters) for a chance to win a copy.
And my review of Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway is up at Los Angeles Review of Books.
My buddy Alex Shakespeare interviewed me for Fiction Writers Review.
And a reminder: The great cover art for Gravesend, which I’ve posted a few times already, is by Matthew Revert – He also a new book out, Basal Ganglia, and it’s damn beautiful.
William Boyle 