Rebecca Makkai

Flavorwire Names The Borrower a top debut of 2011

Rebecca Makkai — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:48:06 +0000

Flavorwire named The Borrower one of the top ten debuts of 2011, saying it is “filled with lovely but unsentimental writing — something of a feat considering the material.” Read the full writeup here!

Long Island Press names Borrower one of Five Best Books of 2011

Rebecca Makkai — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:47:53 +0000

Long Island Press has generously listed The Borrower as one of the top five books of 2011, calling it “charming and un-put-downable.” (It’s true that Ian is 3% more charming when you read his dialogue in a Brooklyn accent.)

A new interview at Authorlink

Rebecca Makkai — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:39:04 +0000

I have a new interview up here at Authorlink. All about what I’m working on now, historical research, and how writing a novel is like being a first-year teacher.

Makkai on the Art of the Sentence for Tin House

Rebecca Makkai — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:28:31 +0000

I contributed to Tin House‘s fabulous series on The Art of Sentence, writing about one of my favorite sentences of all fiction, five words from Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown. Read my essay here, and check out the rest of the series here!

Chicago Magazine’s Best Chicago Fiction of 2011

Rebecca Makkai — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:51:55 +0000

Chicago Magazine has chosen The Borrower as one of the four best works of Chicago fiction of 2011. Remarkably, its author was overlooked yet again for both the Best New Chef and Best Doctor lists, so this will have to suffice.

The Rumpus reviews The Borrower

Rebecca Makkai — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:43:28 +0000

The Rumpus gives The Borrower a rave review in the regular column “The Last Book I Loved.” Read Melissa Pilakowski’s complete review here.

The Borrower named one of Booklist’s top ten debuts

Rebecca Makkai — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:00:08 +0000

Booklist‘s new issue (out October 15th) names The Borrower as one of the top ten debuts of the past year (and has borrowed Lucy’s car for their nifty heading graphic)! See the full list online here.

Story in Best American ’11 Praised in Boston Globe

Rebecca Makkai — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:27:39 +0000

The Boston Globe reviews The Best American Short Stories 2011, singling out my contribution (a story that originally appeared in Tin House).

From the review: ‘In “Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart,’’ one of the best in the collection, Makkai draws comparisons between the deteriorating artistic world and her characters’ lives. Drew and actor Peter have been friends since childhood; when Peter’s life degenerates, Drew risks his career to help him. Makkai’s stories have been included in “BASS’’ four consecutive years.’

Rebecca’s work in BASS ’11 singled out for raves by Chicago Tribune

Rebecca Makkai — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:11:50 +0000

The Best American Short Stories 2011 is finally out, and the Chicago Tribune put this ridiculously nice spotlight on my story “Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart.” From the review: “It’s easy to see why editors love her work: It’s crisply written and fast-moving, with plenty of nifty observational details. But there is also an underlying seriousness, a thoughtful and sometimes even heartbreaking moral core.” Buy the entire collection here – it looks fabulous this year!

Feature Interview in Shenandoah

Rebecca Makkai — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:08:01 +0000

In their first online issue (after sixty years in print) I give an interview to the literary journal Shenandoah, for which I was once lucky enough to stuff envelopes as an undergraduate. Read my interview here, and please continue to support this storied and important journal by reading the whole issue (James Dickey! Betty Adcock! Brendan Galvin!) here and passing on the link!