"Recovery" is "brave and it’s messy in the best way possible, the way people are messy and full of unsorted feeling," writes Halimah Marcus, co-editor of Recommended Reading, in her editor's note. But, she reminds us, "It's also hilarious." From the "To the best of his recollection, no cat had ever let him down. A cat does not promise fidelity in the way that a dog does, but the kind of person who tells you a cat is a selfish independent loner knows nothing about cats, or maybe is just the kind of person a cat doesn't have much time for. (Kind of person who would not bother to fry bacon for their cat's toasted cheese sandwich, probably.)" About Recommended Great authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition (and readership) they deserve. About the Helen DeWitt was born in a suburb of Washington, D.C. in 1957. Her father joined the Foreign Service in 1960, and she grew up primarily in South America. She has a B.A. in Literae Humaniores and a D.Phil. in Greek and Latin Literature from the University of Oxford. Her first novel,The Last Samurai, was published in 2000 by Talk Miramax Books and subsequently in nineteen other countries. A Guggenheim Fellowship (2006-7) supported work on Risk, a novel incorporating the information design of Edward Tufte (in progress). She has collaborated with the painter Ingrid Kerma on the show "Blushing Brides," with journalist Ilya Gridneff on the novel Your Name Here, and with artist Elizabeth McAlpine on "Plantinga" for Photomonth Krakow. Her most recent novel, Lightning Rods, was published by New Directions in 2011.
Author
Helen DeWitt (born 1957 in Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.) is a novelist. DeWitt grew up primarily in South America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador), as her parents worked in the United States diplomatic service. After a year at Northfield Mount Hermon School and two short periods at Smith College, DeWitt studied classics at the University of Oxford, first at Lady Margaret Hall, and then at Brasenose College for her D.Phil. DeWitt is best known for her acclaimed debut novel, The Last Samurai. She held a variety of jobs while struggling to finish a book, including a dictionary text tagger, a copytaker, and Dunkin' Donuts employee, she also worked in a laundry service. During this time she reportedly attempted to finish many novels, before finally completing The Last Samurai, her 50th manuscript, in 1998. In 2005 she collaborated with Ingrid Kerma, the London-based painter, writing limit5 for the exhibition Blushing Brides. In 2004, DeWitt went missing from her home in Staten Island. She was found unharmed a few days later at Niagara Falls. DeWitt lives in Berlin where she has recently finished a second novel, Your Name Here, in collaboration with the Australian journalist Ilya Gridneff. DeWitt had met Gridneff in an East London pub shortly before her departure for New York; impressed by the linguistic virtuosity of his e-mails, she suggested a book inspired by Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, or Being John Malkovich, with Gridneff as Malkovich.
