Canin isn’t the kind of author who’ll be found crushed to death when
his mammoth shelf of awards collapses under its own weight.
That’s fine—book awards are ridiculous, anyway—but people
need to pay attention to his body of work; all his novels are
well-constructed, entertaining, and satisfying. Canin allegedly decided
to become a writer after reading a Saul Bellow novel. That inspiration
has never been more obvious or compelling than in his new novel,
America America, a study of Nixon-era politics and
morality. (Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333. 7
pm, free.)