Letter from Josh Weil, July 19th 2014 Josh spoke to our group in September, 2012
Hello Again Friends,
I’m writing to you from a long, straight road slicing through the red rock desert of New Mexico, fresh from a reading in Los Angeles and on my way to the next one in Austin — but I had to stop long enough to send this short, happy note to you. Because, nearly three weeks since the launch of The Great Glass Sea, this Sunday will be the biggest day for the book so far: tomorrow morning The New York Times prints its review of the novel and NPR airs an interview with me on Weekend Edition. Happily, the review in The Times is great. Lara Vapnyar gets the book exactly right and writes about it beautifully. Here are a few snippets: “[A] fascinating debut novel…hauntingly beautiful…Weil’s depictions of family life are filled with many such striking and heart-breaking details…I can’t think of any other novel that depicts fraternal love quite like this...A fantastical vision inspired by bits and pieces of Russian language, history and culture. It is beautifully baffled by the mysterious Russian soul.” You can read the whole thing here. Or flip through, old-style, ink on your fingertips on Sunday morning…Maybe while you listen to Weekend Edition! I think the NPR review will air sometime Sunday morning and, at least according to my wife (who listened to it, live, in the waiting room at the NPR West HQ) it just might be worth listening to. Of course, you’ll also be able to find it, afterwards, at the Weekend Edition Sunday website. And you’ll be able to find the real thing (by which I mean, um, me) at any of my many events across the country. I’ll include the list of them again below — along with a compilation of other reviews so far. It’s been an amazing launch — begun by one of my best days as an author, signing 2,000 copies at Powell’s in Portland, and carried on into this wonderful weekend, and onward towards Austin, and New Orleans, and points east and north. Thanks, as always, for taking a moment to follow what I’ve been up to. It means a lot to me to be able to share it with y’all. Much warmth, Josh *If you haven’t gotten your hands on the thing, yet, and if the urge strikes you: Indiebound, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or just swing by your local bookstore. *And, as always, if you’d rather not receive these occasional emails, simply reply with “remove” in the subject line. |
ROUNDUP OF REVIEWS:
"Weil’s highly original drama unfolds in a fittingly unique setting…The Great Glass Sea showcases a dystopian society on a grand scale. An ambitious and richly imagined debut novel.”
— Malcolm Forbes for The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“Moving and sensitive…evokes the mythic feel of a contemporary classic. There's pathos and tension…breathtaking brilliance. Weil's greatest gift to the reader: a deep understanding of family, personal loss and the abiding love between siblings.”
— Jeff Vandermeer for The Los Angeles Times
“Captivating. A kind of sweeping historical fable...superbly drawn.”
— Kendal Weaver for The Associated Press
"If complex literary novels really are done for, Josh Weil must’ve missed the text message. His formidable “The Great Glass Sea”…poses mind-bending questions about politics, ecology and the ambivalent closeness of siblings...Weil pulls off dazzling strokes of storytelling…His distinctive voice obliges readers to slow down and swish certain passages around before swallowing…Pushing the envelope on literary artistry even further, each chapter begins with a pen-and-ink illustration by the author. A genre-bending epic steeped in archetypal stories, “The Great Glass Sea,” rises above the usual Cain-and-Abel formula by way of sensitive, resourceful craftsmanship".
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Vivid prose and soaring imagination…The Great Glass Sea is an inventive dystopian tale from a brilliant storyteller about a not-so-far-fetched alternate present, a tale about family and brotherhood that simultaneously brings to light poignant political and philosophical inquiries. It’s a stunningly imagined debut that will dazzle and mesmerize readers as they disappear into its visionary depths and resurface with a new and more profound understanding of fraternal love.”
— Bustle: July 2014’s Best Books
“Close to 500 pages, Weil’s novel bends genres, uses Russian folklore, and gives you enough little philosophical nuggets to bite on to fill your July quota for strange, but totally engrossing novels.”
— Flavorwire: 10 Must Read Books for July
“Lyrical prose pulls readers from each paragraph to the next, and is peppered with brilliant and dark imagery as well as colorful Russian folklore, making The Great Glass Sea a must-read for fans of literary fiction.”
— Book Page
"Weil’s highly original drama unfolds in a fittingly unique setting…The Great Glass Sea showcases a dystopian society on a grand scale. An ambitious and richly imagined debut novel.”
— Malcolm Forbes for The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“Moving and sensitive…evokes the mythic feel of a contemporary classic. There's pathos and tension…breathtaking brilliance. Weil's greatest gift to the reader: a deep understanding of family, personal loss and the abiding love between siblings.”
— Jeff Vandermeer for The Los Angeles Times
“Captivating. A kind of sweeping historical fable...superbly drawn.”
— Kendal Weaver for The Associated Press
"If complex literary novels really are done for, Josh Weil must’ve missed the text message. His formidable “The Great Glass Sea”…poses mind-bending questions about politics, ecology and the ambivalent closeness of siblings...Weil pulls off dazzling strokes of storytelling…His distinctive voice obliges readers to slow down and swish certain passages around before swallowing…Pushing the envelope on literary artistry even further, each chapter begins with a pen-and-ink illustration by the author. A genre-bending epic steeped in archetypal stories, “The Great Glass Sea,” rises above the usual Cain-and-Abel formula by way of sensitive, resourceful craftsmanship".
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Vivid prose and soaring imagination…The Great Glass Sea is an inventive dystopian tale from a brilliant storyteller about a not-so-far-fetched alternate present, a tale about family and brotherhood that simultaneously brings to light poignant political and philosophical inquiries. It’s a stunningly imagined debut that will dazzle and mesmerize readers as they disappear into its visionary depths and resurface with a new and more profound understanding of fraternal love.”
— Bustle: July 2014’s Best Books
“Close to 500 pages, Weil’s novel bends genres, uses Russian folklore, and gives you enough little philosophical nuggets to bite on to fill your July quota for strange, but totally engrossing novels.”
— Flavorwire: 10 Must Read Books for July
“Lyrical prose pulls readers from each paragraph to the next, and is peppered with brilliant and dark imagery as well as colorful Russian folklore, making The Great Glass Sea a must-read for fans of literary fiction.”
— Book Page