Ken Kalfus

A Book Signing and Discussion at Delaware Valley College 700 East Butler Avenue Doylestown, PA 18901 Mandell Building 114 with Author Ken Kalfus Tuesday May 7th @ 7:00pm From National Book Award Finalist Ken Kalfus, an elegant, irreverant novel about the centuries-old quest for interplanteray communication. Equilateral is an intellectual comedy set just before the turn of the century in Egypt. A British astronomer, Thayer, high on Darwin and other progressive scientists of the age, has come to believe that beings more highly evolved than us are alive on Mars (he has evidence) and that there will be a perfect moment in which we can signal to them that we are here too. He gets the support and funding for a massive project to build the Equilateral, a triangle with sides hundreds of miles long, in the desert of Egypt in time for that perfect window. But as work progresses, the Egyptian workers, less evolved than the British, are also less than cooperative, and a bout of malaria that seems to activate at the worst moments makes it all much more confusing and complex than Thayer ever imagined. We see Thayer also through the eyes of two women--a triangle of another sort--a romantic one that involves a secretary who looks after Thayer but doesn't suffer fools, and Binta, a houseservant he covets but can't communicate with--and through them we catch sight of the depth of self-delusion and the folly of the enterprise. Equilateral is written with a subtle, sly humor, but it's also a model of reserve and historical accuracy; it's about many things, including Empire and colonization and exploration; it's about "the other" and who that other might be. We would like to talk to the stars, and yet we can barely talk to each other. Ken Kalfus's new novel, Equilateral will be published in April, 2013. He is the author of two previous novels, The Commissariat of Enlightenment and A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, which was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. He's also published two collections of stories, Thirst and Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies. His books have been translated into more than ten foreign languages. www.kenkalfus.com Digg Facebook Google Technorati del.icio.us

Location: Street: 16 S Main St City: Doylestown, Province: Pennsylvania Postal Code: 18901 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Equilateral Ken Kalfus It is with great excitement that the Metropolitan Bakery continues its commitment to the community and talents of Philadelphia by welcoming author (and longtime customer!) Ken Kalfus to the all-new Metropolitan Cafe location for their first public event. Kalfus will read from his newest work, Equilateral, an intellectual comedy set just before the turn of the century in Egypt. Kalfus is the author of two previous novels, The Commissariat of Enlightenment and A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award, and short story collections Thirst and Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies, a finalist for PEN/Faulkner Award. The New York Times has named three of his books as “Notable Books of the Year” and according to The Village Voice, “Kalfus is one of those rare writers whose travels haven’t colored his prose with cosmopolitan cynicism… He reminds us that sometimes the really significant truths are those found closest to home.” Metropolitan Cafe 264 South 19th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information or to inquire about the space at the Metropolitan Cafe, contact Dani at dani@metropolitanbakery.com.

Location: Street: Metropolitan Cafe Additional: 264 South 19th Street City: Philadelphia, Province: Pennsylvania Postal Code: 19103-5207 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Equilateral Ken Kalfus Praised for his ability to flesh out vivid characters whose lives saturate puzzling cultural backdrops, Ken Kalfus is the author of the story collections Thirst and PU-239 and Other Russian Fantasies, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist. His novels include The Commissariat of Enlightenment, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, in which the events of 9/11 make an unlikely springboard for a biting story about the dissolution of a marriage. His new novel, Equilateral, is a sly comedy placed at the cusp of turn-of-the-century Egypt. All that is James Salter Acclaimed for his masterful writing about the many manifestations of desire and his signature economy of prose, James Salter received the 2012 PEN/Malamud Award, which honors excellence in the art of the short story. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including the novels Light Years, A Sport and a Pastime, The Arm of Flesh, and The Hunters; the memoirs Gods of Tin and Burning the Days; and the short story collection Dusk and Other Stories, which won the 1989 PEN/Faulkner Award. A panoramic, seductive love story set in post-World War II America, All that is celebrates the small tremors and the grand pleasures of being alive. Parkway Central Library 1901 Vine Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway) This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, please call 215-567-4341, or click here

Location: Street: Free Library of Philadelphia Additional: 1901 Vine Street City: Philadelphia, Province: Pennsylvania Postal Code: 19103-5207 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)