Reading List

Author Talk

We sat down with Palo Alto’s Anthony Marra to discuss his new book, The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories, 2017’s One Book, One Marin pick.

MM: There are so many unique elements to The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories — the narration style; the landscape, both political and literal; and the linked story structure. Which came first?

AM: They were originally all separate short stories, and I got to thinking of how I might try to weave them all together, how I might try to leverage the very aspects of a short story collection that people tend to resist, as a means to tell a story that’s much bigger and more ambitious than I could ever fit into a novel. I tried to use these stories as individual chapters that told this overarching story that lasts about a century and spans thousands of miles.

MM: How do you play with time and history in this book?

AM: I was looking at time through objects. One of the main “characters” is an oil painting from the 19th century. When we walk into a museum, how many hands has a particular painting moved through? How many eyes have seen it? How many people have worked on it? How can you look at one object and use it as a time machine to move through different people’s lives? The painting appears in every single story, and we begin to see how the stories surrounding this painting are in fact more interesting and dramatic than the art itself.

MM: Russia plays a huge part in your novel. What is it about postSoviet Russia that fascinates you?

AM: It’s a place, in many ways, of extremes: extremes of climate, of geography, of history, of politics. I think that it allows you to pose questions that would be difficult otherwise. Above all, it’s an environment that magnifies moral choice. What are the moral dimensions of citizenship? How do we try to understand political decisions, and how do they touch down in the lives of those furthest from the source of political power, yet closest to the repercussions? Russia is a place that allows those questions to grow to monumental

scales. CALIN VAN PARIS

Local Page Turners

The Tsar of Love & Techno: Stories by

Anthony Marra (Palo Alto), Hogarth, $16. In vibrant prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of literature’s greatest new talents (Anthony Marra’s debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, was long-listed for the National Book Award). This stunning, exquisitely written new collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. Appearing at Book Passage Corte Madera February 1, 7 p.m., as part of the One Book One Marin 2017 launch program.

Whole World Vegetarian by Marie Simmons

(San Francisco), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $23. In Whole World Vegetarian, Marie Simmons follows her culinary wanderlust, bringing together a collection of bold, imaginative dishes and seamlessly adapting them to contemporary tables. Cooks can expect a wealth of sumptuous options — even the homiest of dishes deliver rich rewards. The winner of a Julia Child Award and

two James Beard Foundation Awards, Simmons is to be trusted on all culinary matters, and this book is no exception. Appearing at Greens in San Francisco February 3, 12 p.m.

Fatal by John Lescroart (San Francisco), Atria Books, $26.99. From New York Times best-selling author John Lescroart, a riveting novel about the unexpected, shattering and lethal effects of a one-night stand on a seemingly happily married couple. Fatal follows Kate, as an innocent crush soon develops into a dangerous obsession. An explosive story of infidelity, danger and moral ambiguity, John Lescroart’s latest thriller will excite and satisfy both his current and new fans. Appearing at Book Passage Corte Madera with K.J. Howe February 18, 4 p.m.

Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to

You in Your Life by Yiyun Li (Oakland), Random House, $27. In her first nonfiction book, awardwinning novelist Yiyun Li explores the questions we ask ourselves as readers and writers, as citizens and solitary travelers, as parents and children: how does one make life livable? How do writing and reading bring us solace and help us embrace the conflicts of our daily reality? Tracing the course of her life from China to America, and from biologist to writer, Li reflects with startling generosity and humanity on the writers who have shaped her. Appearing at Book Passage Corte Madera February 21, 7 p.m.

Reviews by Book Passage Marketing Manager Zack Ruskin.