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2:46 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

'Breed': A Pseudonym To Pen A Tale Of Horror

Credit Wendy Ewald
Scott Spencer, writing for the first time under the pen name Chase Novak, is the best-selling author of Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper.

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 8:57 pm

If you're a horror fan, you're probably familiar with the trope of the demon child — you know, the sweet little kid who undergoes a horrible transformation and terrorizes everyone in his or her path (or is just born evil, like Rosemary's titular baby).

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Monkey See
1:09 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

TIFF '12: Billy Bob Thornton's Film That Is Not About 'Jayne Mansfield's Car'

Credit Van Redin / Toronto International Film Festival
Billy Bob Thornton and Kevin Bacon star in Jayne Mansfield's Car.

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 1:30 pm

[Monkey See will be at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) through the middle of this week. We'll be bringing you our takes on films both large and small, from people both well-known and not.]

Here's a declaration for you: I haven't seen even ten percent of the films playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, but I am convinced that Jayne Mansfield's Car has the worst title.

Let's go back to the beginning.

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Monkey See
12:17 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

TIFF '12: 'Mr. Pip' And Literary Escape

Credit Toronto International Film Festival
Hugh Laurie and Xzannjah in Mr. Pip.

[Monkey See will be at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) through the middle of this week. We'll be bringing you our takes on films both large and small, from people both well-known and not.]

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Book Reviews
6:03 am
Tue September 11, 2012

A Supersized Slice Of Life In 'Telegraph Avenue'

Credit Ulf Andersen / Getty Images
Michael Chabon is the author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue is an agreeable if ultimately frustrating shaggy-dog tale of a novel that slips its leash and lopes its discursive and distinctly unhurried way through the unkempt backyards of its characters' lives.

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Author Interviews
2:29 am
Tue September 11, 2012

Stories From A New Generation Of American Soldiers

Credit
Yellow Birds book cover detail

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 8:57 am

Iraq War veteran Brian Castner opens his new memoir, The Long Walk, with a direct and disturbing warning:

"The first thing you should know about me is that I'm Crazy," he writes. "I haven't always been. Until that one day, the day I went Crazy, I was fine. Or I thought I was. Not anymore."

More than 10 years since a new generation of Americans went into combat, the soldiers themselves are starting to write the story of war. Three recent releases show how their experiences give them the authority to describe the war, fictionalize it and even satirize it.

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