Adam langer read at the west side ymca writers voice along with the actress anne jackson on september 8, 2005. Adam langer s the washington story brings readers back to west rogers park, a thickly multicultural neighborhood not far from where i live. Jul 31, 2010 adam langer s enigmatic new novel, the thieves of manhattan, twists and turns like a mobius strip. Jul 12, 2010 you can read more about adam langer at his website, including info on his previous novels crossing california, the washington story, and ellington boulevard, and his memoir my fathers bonus march. Aug 18, 2005 adam langer would be embarrassed if critics were to read too much into his novel, yet the washington story compels readers to ponder several serious themes. He has written plays, films, criticism and a memoir, but most of the time, he writes novels. The thieves of manhattan is a novel that examines the lengths some writers will go to succeed. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the salinger contract. About the author born and raised in chicago, adam langer is the author of the novels crossing california, the washington story, ellington boulevard, and the thieves of manhattan, and the memoir. My fathers bonus march by adam langer nook book ebook.
His work has been featured most recently on nprs selected shorts, in the best mens stage monologues 2000, and the best womens stage monologues 2000, as well as in the chicago readers fiction issue, and in the literary magazine salt hill. The collection also contains research and publicity files on these books. Adam langer, the wickedly funny author of the novels crossing california, the washington story, and ellington boulevard, has written a book that is at once a comical literary caper, an exploration of authenticity and fakery, and a tribute to books. Born and raised in chicago, adam langer is the author of the novels ellington boulevard, crossing california, and the washington story. Adam langer culture and magazine editor forward magazine. Unearthing the artifacts of jill, muley and the rest was an effort well worth adam langer s abundant talent. Sep 05, 2006 adam langer would be embarrassed if critics were to read too much into his novel, yet the washington story compels readers to ponder several serious themes. His books include the novels crossing california, the washington story, ellington boulevard and the thieves of manhattan, as well as the memoir my fathers bonus march. The collection contains drafts of langer s published books, showing the evolution of his work on the novels crossing california, the washington story, ellington boulevard and the thieves of manhattan as well as his memoir about his father, my fathers bonus march. The adam langer we met for lunch in soho last week isnt the same person as the adam langer. The washington story by adam langer 2005, hardcover for. For readers who turn first on sunday morning to the real estate section, it doesnt get much better.
Born and raised in chicago, he now lives in new york. See all books by adam langer about adam langer born and raised in chicago, adam langer is the author of the novels ellington boulevard, crossing california, and the washington story. Ellington boulevard tells the story of formerly famous saxophone player ike. Washington story, ellington boulevard, and the thieves of. The novel concerns assimilation, the place of the jew within the expanding universe, the relationships between jews and africanamericans, and those among conservative, orthodox.
Occupation, novelist, short story writer, playwright, journalist. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Adam langer is a journalist, author, playwright and filmmaker. Cheer for them to attain their desires and dreams, and to avoid pain and sorrow.
Together his two books crossing california and washington story make an epic. I havent talked much about my forthcoming novel ellington boulevard yet, but it has a soundtrack too. His characters yearn for connection, community and coherence but often encounter chaos, confusion and conflict. In author adam langers mind, however, the washington story is a different kind. In the book he recounts the bonus march of 1932, when 20,000 world war i veterans marched on washington for two months in the hopes of. Adam langer author of crossing california goodreads. The washington story is set over a fiveyear period and the structure of the novel is inspired by the five books of moses, which are also, in part, a story of diaspora. Those books ended in the 1980s and i have wondered how they would age. The washington story takes his time in developing the characters and the depths of their interconnectedness. Jul 09, 2010 adam langer is a journalist, author, playwright and filmmaker. This by turns funny and heartbreaking first novel tells the story of three families and. My first novel, crossing california, was published by riverhead books in 2004, the washington story in august, 2005.
The washington story takes his time in developing the characters and the depths of their interconnectedness, rendering the twists, doubts and heartbreaks that afflict the milieu highly affecting. For adam langer, the story just wasnt over chicago tribune. In the washington story, adam langer has given us a world full of characters to cheer for. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover adam s. Your new novel or novelposingasmemoirposingasnovelposingasmemoir. Washington story, ellington boulevard, and the thieves of manhattan, and the. View adam langer s profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community.
In the washington story, adam langer revisits his extraordinary cast of characters from crossing california, each inextricably linked by love, betrayal, reunions, sex, death, and rebirthand all holding out hope that their dreams are worth pursuing, as they come of age in a. Arts journalism program and remained in new york as a senior editor of book magazine until it. The salinger contract hardcover the elliott bay book. Langer grew up in the west rogers park neighborhood of chicago, where he attended daniel boone elementary school. Books by adam langer author of crossing california goodreads. More from adam langer and book picks sent right to your inbox.
Download in pdf, epub, and mobi format for read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Adam langer born 1967 is an american author best known for his novel crossing california. The author speaks with liane hansen about his myriad influences, his love of puzzles, and how his. With his wife seeking tenure at indiana university, the eponymous protagonist adam langer is a bloomington house husband, shuffling between day care and shopping, saving a few moments to restart a stalled literary career. Like adam langers previous two novels, crossing california and washington. When i heard adam langer was writing a third novel, i hoped it would be a continuation of the wonderful characters we met in crossing california and washington story. Jun 26, 2011 by adam langer june 26, 2011 by his own estimation, jude keffyhorn, the skateboarding teen drug abuser turned cleanliving proselytizer in eleanor hendersons first novel, ten thousand. Freedman, the new york sun august 24, 2005 adam langer s overtly nostalgic novels do the work of balzac and vh1 in a single blow. For those of us who woefully turned the last page of crossing california, adam langer s masterful debut, the washington story offers a gratifying, if not lengthy, reunion with the people and places whose stories so engaged readers the first time around. A novel by langer, adam and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. In the washington story, i listened to a whole lot of 80s music.
Literature archival collections chicago public library. In the washington story, adam langer revisits his extraordinary cast of characters from crossing california, each inextricably linked by love, betrayal, reunions, sex, death, and rebirthand all holding out hope that their dreams are worth pursuing, as they come of age in a very particular time in american history. Well, langer moved his fiction from chicago to new york, and introduced us to a new crew of characters. Sep 17, 20 an enthralling literary mystery that connects some of the worlds most famous authorsfrom norman mailer and truman capote to b.
Adam langer has 10 books on goodreads with 10735 ratings. Adam langer talked about his book my fathers bonus march. Not exactly, anyway, though at the time of writing the novel he did have certain things in. When i was working with the marketing department of riverhead books on crossing california, we talked about the possibility of releasing a soundtrack cd with the book.
Theyre starting to get excited about adam langers next book here in chicago. Adam langer is a novelist, journalist and playwright. In author adam langer s mind, however, the washington story is a different kind of sequel. These radical black thrillers fantasized about dismantling. Adam langer, author of the muchbeloved chicago novel crossing california. Adam langer has written a family mystery story that takes the reader back to a complex past, created from other peoples recollections and adam s own pilgrimage to an event hardly touched by american memory. Adam langer s thieves of manhattan is a gleeful addition to the caper canon, a richly twisted narrative that jauntily skewers the publishing business with its bizarre assortment of characterseccentric, egomaniacal agents, sellout publishers, successcrazed illiterate authors, and television book clubs. Biblioklept interviews adam langer about his new book, the. Once may have been an honest mistake, but twice, it must be a trend.
Returning to chicago, he worked for a little over a decade as an editor, nonfiction author, playwright, theater director, and film producer. A couple of books in there paperbacks of hardcovers that are already out are worth sharing, one of which is a worthy addition to chicagos literature. He attended evanston township high school from 19801984 and graduated from vassar college in 1988. From the suntimes in it, jill wasserstrom and muley wills, the young heroes of the first novel, are now high school students. Im not sure how much of this is new information, but it looks like the new book, washington story, is a sequel to his debut, crossing california. A novel of literary crimes and misdemeanors, the salinger contract will delight anyone who loves a fastpaced story told with humor, wit, and intrigue. For more than 30 years, his father talked about writing a history of the bonus march, which langer describes as a pivotal but now mostly forgotten event, when some 20,000 wwi veterans marched on washington for two months during the depression, demanding advance payment of bonuses due in 1945, until a bloody confrontation with the u. Dec 03, 2010 you can read more about adam langer at his website, including info on his previous novels crossing california, the washington story, and ellington boulevard, and his memoir my fathers bonus march. Joyce begins to tell langer the story of how hes been contacted by dex, a mysterious. To his family, he was a driven and dedicated physician, a devoted father and husband.
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