Glengarry GlenRoss

There was a big, heavy box waiting for me on the front porch when I got home last night. I scratched my head, trying to figure out what I might have ordered that would be that big. And heavy. Inside: my ten contributor copies of The Blue Religion, which will be in bookstores in two weeks. I was glad to see that the one type in my story that had made it into the ARC had been corrected in the final version. It’s a terrific book, and I’m pleased as punch to be part of it.

One of my coworkers lent me Glengarry GlenRoss this week after a conversation we had about the sales team. The movie has become their favorite film and they can all quote from it at length. I saw it a long time ago but didn’t have much memory of it, so it was a little like seeing it for the first time when I watched it last night. Mamet’s dialog is complex and the delivery never lets you forget that it was originally a stage play. It’s hard to believe that a group of men could survive under the same roof for as long as they had without someone killing someone else. There’s no love lost between them, as witnessed by the foul language they use to address each other. I read somewhere that the cast referred to it as Death of a Fucking Salesman because of its pervasive profanity.

I gave myself a day off from writing this morning. I have a short story I want to try to work on this weekend, if possible. Next week, it’ll be back to editing the manuscript.

Everyone’s at WHC this weekend. The internet is quiet. This time next week I’ll be flying to D.C. to attend the “Three Kings” reading. A quick trip, but one I’m looking forward to.