Brian Platzer is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Bed-Stuy Is Burning and The Body Politic (both Atria/Simon & Schuster) as well as the forthcoming parenting book Taking the Stress Out of Homework (Avery/Penguin Random House).Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Platzer's reply:
At the moment, I’ve been reading Kudos, the third novel in Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy. Cusk is a genius at finding language for thoughts and emotions I’ve felt but couldn’t articulate. I spend so much time trying to make my plots feel inevitable--to makeVisit Brian Platzer's website.every character's action have a clear consequence to the desires or actions of every other character. I think about what my characters want, how they go about getting it, and how their decisions affect those of their friends and family. Cusk's magic is to make plot almost entirely unnecessary. With character, anecdote, and voice alone, she reaches a deeper truth than almost any other writer working today.
--Marshal Zeringue
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