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book blitz: All about fiction.

Fall Fiction Week at SlateSlate's annual look at the novel.


Updated Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, at 7:40 AM ET
Illustration by Charlie Powell. Click image to expand.

Welcome to Slate's Fall Fiction Week. Over the next few days, we'll be supplementing our regular literary coverage with a special issue conceived for your reading pleasure. You can find an updated list of articles on this page each day.

We kick off with a survey. Contemporary authors tackle the question: What's your gravest literary omission—the most important book you've never read? Tune in for their confessions. Also, Stephen Metcalf reviews Philip Roth's Exit Ghost; and Michael Wood dissects Mario Vargas Llosa's The Bad Girl. Later in the week, Joshua Glenn solves an academic debate about Henry James' The Ambassadors; Sarah Schulman challenges the myth of merit-based publishing; Nathan Heller takes on Robert Hass; and much, much more.

Tuesday

"The Great Novel I Never Read: The Sound and the Fury, Swann's Way, and other books that novelists skipped." Posted Oct. 30, 2007.

"What's Love Got To Do With It?: Mario Vargas Llosa dissects an obsession," by Michael Wood. Posted Oct. 30, 2007.

"Zuckerman Unbound: What should we make of Philip Roth's alter ego in his declining years?" By Stephen Metcalf. Posted Oct. 30, 2007.

"The Lost Art of the Rant: How the Web revived a storied tradition of expletive-laced tirades," by Daniel Seidel. Posted Oct. 30, 2007.

"Was George Plimpton a Literary Giant: Uh, no. Why does Philip Roth insist on arguing that he was?" By Timothy Noah. Posted Oct. 30, 2007.

Wednesday

"Fall Books: Our take on this season's books," by Michael Agger, Tyler Cowen, Timothy Noah, Amanda Schaffer, Jack Shafer, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg. Posted Oct. 31, 2007.

"Paradise Lost: Cees Nooteboom takes on our jet-fueled millennium," by Jess Row. Posted Oct. 31, 2007.

"Is It a Chamber Pot? Nope! A century-old literary mystery, solved," by Joshua Glenn. Posted Oct. 31, 2007.

"The Invisible Lesbian: Challenging the myth of merit-based publishing," by Sarah Schulman. Posted Oct.31, 2007.

"I Was Gordon Lish's Editor: Not that he let me do any editing," by Gerald Howard. Posted Oct. 31, 2007.

Thursday

"When Poetry Meets Politics: Robert Hass' poetic journey," by Nathan Heller. Posted Nov. 1, 2007.

"No Second Chances: The bracing vision of William Trevor," by Emily Johnston. Posted Nov. 1, 2007.

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Illustration by Charlie Powell.
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