Thursday, September 29, 2016

In Sunlight or in Shadow -- Lawrence Block, Editor

The full title of this book is In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper.  It contains 17 stories along with full-color reproductions of the paintings that inspired them, so it's a great book to look at as well as to read.  There's a dynamite lineup of authors, as you can see from the cover reproduced to the left.  And in case you're wondering, the story inspired by the cover painting is by Joe Lansdale.  It's a crime story that involves a movie theater, and it has Lansdale's signature touch.  

Not all the stories are crime stories, however.  Jill Block's is a mainstream story about family.  Stephen King has a quiet (sort of) horror story.  Block's story is a historical crime story that has a great sense of place and time.  The crime involved is quite a small one.  Craig Ferguson (yes, that Craig Ferguson) writes about two old men nearing the end, and Megan Abbott writes about strippers.  It's Michael Connelly who gets to write about "Nighthawks."  All the stories are a pleasure to read, and it's fun to think of how a story you might have written about the pictures would have been like or different from the ones told here.  Highly recommended.

8 comments:

Jeff Meyerson said...

I have it, but haven't started it yet, of course.

Deb said...

Adding it to tbr list as I type (yes--multitasking!). What a great concept. I love Edward Hopper (Nighthawks is the tip of the iceburg); and those enigmatic shadows and streets are perfect inspiration.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

I have this on my list. Isn't due out to Dec 6th.

Bill Crider Post said...

Wanna get it..

regards,

Richard
http://billcriderpost.blogspot.com

Henry Reiten said...


Frode Grytten published a book in 2009. He took a Edward Harper painting and continued a short story told from the moment in the painting. In all there were 10 short stories. I thought it was a very good. Unfortunately, it´s in Norwegian and has the title of "Rom ved have, rom i byen" (Room by the sea, room in the city). Being an Edward Hopper fan, I thought it was great. Make your own story up.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Lawrence Block honored me with a review copy. Sadly, I have not read it yet.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Just got a HC copy on Ebay for $11.

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