Tom Lynch

Dale Peck has pissed off a lot of people. The New Republic book critic obliterated nearly every book he's reviewed during his career in his outspoken disdain of contemporary fiction, once calling Rick Moody, in an infamous attack against postmodern literature, the worst writer of his generation. Peck spares no one from his snark--except himself, of course. He believes the four novels he's written "are among the best books published in the last ten years." His newest effort, "What We Lost," a semi-biographical account of Peck's father's adolescence in the 1950s, is hardly the greatest novel ever written, but the book remains engaging throughout and isn't bogged down with sentimentality. Why would anyone go see the self-described "bitch queen of the literary universe?" Because he's scary, that's why.

Dale Peck discusses "What We Lost" January 6 at 7:30pm at Barbara's Books, 1100 Lake Street, Oak Park, (708)848-9140.

(2003-12-30)

Also by Tom Lynch

On Board
"The New Yorker" of punk takes on skateboarding for grownups
(2003-12-10)

The Weather overground
The screening room for "Rebels with a Cause," a documentary examining the history of the Students for a Democratic Society, the radical group of anti-Vietnam protestors, feels like a freezer
(2003-12-10)

The cock crows
As The Daley Center hosts the hearing regarding the potential closing of Big Chicks, the crowd breathes heavily on one another
(2003-12-02)

Windows for the world
A pink-haired Columbia College freshman, complete with a Camel cigarette and a matching backpack littered with Black Flag patches, winces as she witnesses a child swallowed by a river of thick brown ooze
(2003-11-26)

Tip of the Week
(2003-11-19)

From Russia, With Love
(2003-11-19)

Tip of the Week
(2003-11-13)

Debbie does Dogme
(2003-11-13)

Tip of the Week
(2003-11-05)

Still biting
(2003-11-05)

Ollie oop
(2003-11-05)

Tip of the Week
(2003-10-29)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment