I received the new Library of America volume of Butler's work (no. 393, as they list it -- volume 393, I want to say) yesterday.
If you're not familiar with the Library of America series, it's a series published by a non-profit with the purpose of keeping works of classical American literature in print.
This is the second volume of Butler's work they have published. The first contained Fledgling, Kindred, and some short stories, including "Bloodchild," which is probably her most well-known short story.
Parable of the Sower, in which Butler apparently saw Trump coming (actually, she just took Reagan and the world of the 1980s and extrapolated), is probably her best-known novel at this point. Not her best novel. That's almost certainly Fledgling, though I would be willing to listen to arguments for the Lilith's Brood trilogy, which is what this new volume contains.
I didn't really need to buy this volume, since I already have Lilith's Brood in paperback. But the Library of America volumes are lovely books, and also I wanted to read the extra material -- the notes, some letters from Butler, and the introduction, by Imani Perry. Yes, I'm a nerd. But if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't have come across this note:
Writers have no idea about the quality of their work. None.
No comments:
Post a Comment