My copy of Tao Lin's Shoplifting From American Apparel has arrived from my publisher Melville House. It's a beautifully produced book from their wonderful contemporary novella series.
The book is an exciting read and will firmly cement Tao Lin into American literary history - I'm sure of that. There is a real art to his writing, as pared down and as meaningless as it seems. I hope the book gains sound critical attention. 3AM Magazine, as ever, are one of the first to review it.
Oh, and no, that isn't a real sheep's head.
Addendum:
I was just re-reading the above for some reason and felt that it wasn’t enough. There is something of ‘the other’ in this novella, something that exists outside of the ordinary, established constructs of ‘Literature’ – it reads like something else, something without established order. It is ultimately modern (in the same way Chris Killen’s writing is). Some writers write about the modern world, whereas other writers’ writing is completely modern in its construction, without questioning anything, or overtly portraying something we may have ‘missed’. Sometimes writing exists alone, on its own terms. Tao Lin’s writing is exactly this: it leaves behind the established order of things and leads narrative construct into new territories – I suppose this is why his writing can generate such conflicting opinions in his readers. Which can only be a good thing in my opinion.
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