Off in a lonely Netherland

I didn't end up seeing Richard Price and Charles Bock last night, although I don't doubt that I would have had a great time hearing them read. Instead I went down to Union Square to catch the Booker longlisted Joseph O'Neill read from his third novel NETHERLAND. To be fair, he wasn't the only draw, though: O'Neill was reading as part of the Barnes & Noble "Upstairs at the Square" series which unites writers and musicians once a month, the accompanying musician in this case being singer Aimee Mann.

I don't think even host Katherine Lanpher realized how well O'Neill and Mann were suited to each other, although as Lanpher pointed out Mann is often described as a "literary" songwriter: "I think if you write a song and you put more than three details in it, you're described as literary," Mann responded. It later came up in conversation that the author had listened to some Aimee Mann songs while he was writing; Mann offered to have him sing along with her, but he said he didn't listen to the lyrics, so there was a little good-natured heckling. Beyond those connections, O'Neill's book is about a Dutch loner in New York City who plays cricket; Mann soundtracks people's alienation, whether literally on the "Magnolia" soundtrack or in more intimate settings.

I haven't been able to read it yet -- waiting for a library copy to come through -- but I'm looking forward to digging into NETHERLAND with Aimee's new album "!@$#$@^# Smilers" ringing in my ears. I wish B&N would go ahead and post the next Upstairs at the Square event!