Following the success of “Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper,” winner of the 2001 National Book Critics Award for non-fiction, Nicholson Baker returns to fiction with the publication of “A Box of Matches,” his first new novel in five years.
On Thursday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m., the Newberry Library hosts Baker for a Meet the Author talk and book signing. During this program, which is free and open to the public, Baker introduces readers to Emmett, a middle-aged editor of medical textbooks, who prefers to be conscious while the rest of the world sleeps. Every morning around 4 a.m., Emmett quietly rises, so as not to wake his family, and makes his way downstairs to drink coffee in front of the fireplace and think. What Emmett thinks about is the subject of this novel. Once again, Baker displays his extraordinary ability to describe and celebrate life in all its rich ordinariness as Emmett’s thoughts carry readers over vast distances, while never straying beyond his hearth and home.
A book signing will follow Baker’s talk. For more information, call (312) 255-3700. The Newberry Library is located at 60 W. Walton St. |
