Authors talk, one finally

Nam Le's "The Boat" was described this weekend by Antoine Wilson in our Book Review as "a refreshingly diverse and panoramic debut."  The newspaper interviewed Le way back at the beginning of June. "I think that the reason I travel is similar to the reason I read and write fiction: to experience other places," Le said.

Also reviewed this weekend in The Times' Book Review: Joan Silber's "The Size of the World." The novel, Susan Salter Reynolds wrote, "is a wild ride. Following Silber's threads as they reach across time and space can feel somewhat precarious. But it's worth it." In a guest post on The Millions late last month, Silber offered her thoughts on reading about —and in — Southeast Asia.

And on a final note, science fiction author Thomas M. Disch died July 4. Edward Champion recently interviewed Disch for "The Bat Segundo" show; that podcast, Disch's last in-person interview, is available now. Champion also wrote a memorial about the author for New York magazine and posted a long list of other writers commenting on the loss, including William Gibson.

Carolyn Kellogg

Photo of Thomas M. Disch via Flickr's Houari B