Askold Melnyczuk’s fourth novel, “Smedley’s Secret Guide to World Literature by Jonathan Levy Wainwright, age 15” is scheduled for publication on May 1 – perfect timing for it to be included in some summer vacation reading.
The book is written from the point of view of Jonathan, a “savvy and cyber-sexed 15-year old,” who gets suspended from school a week before Memorial Day and whose poet/professor father assigns him the task of writing a history of literature in the age of Twitter. Jonathan decides his father’s assignment could be better completed in New York, which would also give him the opportunity to spend some time with his godfather who recently had a stroke, but city life – along with the charms of the worldly Beatriz – provides endless distraction. In the end, we are reminded that “no one knows how anything will turn out until it happens.”
Esquire magazine described “Smedley’s Guide…” as “a novel so precise and understated it’s stunning,” while The Boston Globe called it a “small gem of a novel.” The New York Times Book Review said, “To fall in love with Melnyczuk’s voice is no trouble at all.”
Mr. Melnyczuk’s previous novels include “What is Told,” a New York Times Notable Book; “The Ambassador of the Dead,” which was selected as one of the Best Books of the Year by the Los Angeles Times; and “The House of Widows,” chosen by the American Libraries Association’s Booklist as an Editor’s Choice. He has also published stories, poems, essays, translations and reviews in The New York Times, The Nation, APR, The Antioch Review, Poetry and Glimmer Train.
Mr. Melnyczuk currently teaches at the University of Massachusetts and at Bennington College, MFA Program. He has taught at Harvard University and Boston University, and has served on the boards of the New England Poetry Club and PEN New England and has been a fellow of the Boston Foundation.
“Smedley’s Secret Guide to World Literature” will be published on May 1. For print versions, the publisher suggests readers try their local independent bookseller, who will be able to order the book if they do not have it in stock. Links to various online retailers can be found on at www.pfppublishing.com/contact.