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From Stephen Elliott
To say that Amsterdam Stories is a pleasure to read is a vast understatement. This pearl of a book, containing all of the Dutch author Nescio’s greatest stories, evoked in me a joy I seldom receive: the jolt of clarity and wistful understanding that comes from reading a truly remarkable prose stylist.
In New York this week Rick Moody kicks off his book tour, BOMB Magazine hosts its Summer Bash at Glasslands, Black Keys perform at Summer Stage, Anderbo.com hosts Anderbo Indoors, Sandra Bernhard in Shel Silverstein’s Hamlet, Joseph O’Neill, Nicholas Christopher and Rachel Shukert read, and Paul Dano and Kevin Kline in The Extra Man.
In his much celebrated third novel, Netherland, Irish-born Joseph O’Neill writes:
“Not counting the lobby, the Chelsea Hotel had ten floors. Each was served by a dim hallway that ran from an air shaft on one side to, on my floor, a door with a yellowing pane of frosted glass that suggested the ulterior presence of a private detective rather than, as was actually the case, a fire escape.
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