The Anthologist

The Anthologist: A Novel, by Nicholson Baker; Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2010

Reviewed by Nancy Shepley

I recommend Baker's The Anthologist, a hilarious account of a "poet" who is trying to write an introduction to his anthology of poems. The main character, Paul Crowder, is a failure at life, who has lost the two things that he values most--his girlfriend, and his ability to write. He stumbles through his woeful personal life, credit card debt, frequent finger injuries, and skewed and sordid views of poets and poetry. Colm Toibin's The Blackwater Lightship is the account of an Irish family coming to terms with the death of a son, and a brother dying of AIDS. These tragic losses helps to heal divisions and misunderstandings among the various family members. In a different direction, try The Quick and the Dead, by Joy Williams. This novel centers on the friendship between three young women, their various attitudes and adventures taken singly, and together.