Not Swept away by this Broom
In its own right, especially as a first novel by then 24-year-old MFA student David Foster Wallace, The Broom of the System is a clever and entertaining if quirky and meandering read. An arguably excessive (467-page) tale of an underachieving Cleveland telephone operator struggling to make sense of her 20-something life – populated with a […]
Read MoreGift of “Game”!
Just in time for your holiday shopping, win an autographed copy of my novel A Simple Game! Starting today through December 21, you can win one of six free copies of my international thriller here on Goodreads. If you’re already a member, it’s easy to enter. Just go to “Browse,” choose the “Giveaway” link, find A Simple […]
Read MoreIn Our Own Write
Every year I eagerly await the November issue of The Foreign Service Journal, which features books written by American diplomats – and this time I’m honored to be among them! My novel A Simple Game appears as one of the fiction selections showcased in this year’s edition, titled as always “In Their Own Write.” The […]
Read MoreJump on the Train!
Believe the hype: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a tensely taut thriller that delivers from start to finish and is well worth a read before going to see the just-released film of the same name, starring Emily Blunt. Half the fun of this best-selling novel comes in guessing whodunit, which, I’ll admit, […]
Read MoreToo Much “Terrorism”
Place: Bucharest | Drink: shot of tuică | Not all violence is terrorism. I don’t want to downplay terrorism, for there is clearly too much of it in the world today and most of it is quite horrible. Yet also troubling is a recent trend among world leaders, international media, and the general public to label […]
Read MoreInnocence & Resilience
Place: Istanbul | Drink: Monkey Shoulder blended whiskey | Late Friday night, listening to fighter jets hurtle overhead as a coup attempt erupted on nearby streets, I found myself thinking about a passage from The Museum of Innocence. The concept of rebellion features only tangentially in the novel by Nobel prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, but the passage and […]
Read MoreSharks (and a Dragon) Bite Back!
Place: Istanbul | Drink: Orange juice | Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water of football fairy tale finishes… Someone finally handed the “sharks” – Germany, France, Portugal – a familiar script, the one in which they progress to the latter stages of yet another major international soccer tournament, in this […]
Read MoreHead, Heart, Heritage
Place: Istanbul | Drink: German beer | The tagline for the European Championship football tournament so far could read “Minnows Bite Sharks!” And, with two weeks to go in this month-long extravaganza in France, there may be even more blood in the water. If you’ve been watching, then you’re well aware how the likes of […]
Read MoreLocation, Location, Location
Place: Ephesus, Turkey | Drink: Local pomegranate wine | So, how do you decide where to set your novel? A great question I’ve been getting since finishing my first book, A Simple Game. For me, I followed that old adage, “Write about what you know,” or, in this case, where you’ve been. All told, the action […]
Read MoreTurkish Wine: Who Knew?
Place: Istanbul | Drink: Turkish wine | For starters, the Turks! And it’s a shame they’ve been keeping it a secret from the rest of us. One of the best parts of changing countries as regularly as most people change toothbrushes is all the novelties on the menu. “It’s the little differences,” as John Travolta’s hit-man […]
Read MoreKirk Wolcott’s First Novel
Politics, terrorism, and sports collide in this riveting debut novel by American diplomat and former sportswriter Kirk Wolcott, prompting a crucial question for our time: How far is too far when trying to change the world?
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Kirk
12/10/2016
Book Reviews
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