New Media

Shortly I first arrived in Vancouver, one of my first freelance journalism gigs here was writing for the Western Jewish Bulletin (which today is called the Jewish Independent). So it’s particularly heartwarming to see my novel, A History of the Middle Eastside, covered in that worthy publication. Thanks for the feature, people.

Explained Narvey to the Independent, “Two clichés I’ve often heard when discussing the politics of the Middle East, whether in formal surroundings or over pints at the pub: ‘It’s a rough neighborhood’ and ‘It’s complicated.’ So I ran with that: ‘What if I write a novel that breaks down the 20th century of the region into a simple parable of street gangs stabbing each other over turf?’

“I thought back to Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. I was also reading Michael Chabon’s incredible novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. I thought that writing in that style, with the story set in a surreal world of gangsters and the underworld, might be both entertaining and also accessible for a mainstream audience.”

He added, “If you like a rip-roaring tale of action, it works straight up as a pulp fiction gangster novel. If you’ve already got a pretty thorough grounding in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and world diplomacy in the 20th century, or want to learn a bit more about it, it works on a deeper level as well. I like the idea that it can educate, though from what I’ve heard from some of my readers, it can also feed into preexisting biases. It is what you make of it.”

Buy a copy of A History of the Middle Eastside on Amazon

My latest short fiction piece in The Propagandist: Middle East Inc. and the Arab Spring. An excerpt:

“So, boss?” Hussein spurred on, trying through sheer force of will not to sweat through his old suit. “Do we have a plan?”

“I don’t think we should change a thing,” Assad said. “Our customers are fine with what we give them. Corruption, torture, terror… we have to stick to our main business offerings. That’s what we’re known for.”

Najib shook his head. “Look, boss. I’ve only been with the company a little while, but it seems to me the marketplace is changing. They’re not going for the old product line. Word on the street is the customers want freedom. Democracy.”

If you’re looking for something a bit weightier in a similar vein, you could always try my novel, A History of the Middle Eastside.

I hate that The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor’s Plan Designed for Rapid Results is the #1 bestselling book on Amazon and my novel places at #3,594,287.

I bet The 17 Day Diet doesn’t have cool-as-ice gangsters serving up Yiddish slang in the middle of bloody knife fights. So there.

Guess it’s time to bump up the marketing campaign.

Check out A History Of The Middle Eastside

I’m not exactly sure how Amazon works, but somebody seems to be making a whole lot of money off my novel, A History of The Middle Eastside.

If these guys at “quality-books” can actually find a buyer at that price, all the power to them.

Of course, if you’d like to purchase my book for $9.99 plus shipping, that would be swell, too.

Want a FREE COPY of A History Of The Middle Eastside? If you’re a book reviewer for a magazine, newspaper or political/literary/cultural blog, I’ve still got a few review copies I can send out. Contact me at jnarvey [AT] writeimage [DOT] ca

I’ve been reading a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories for the first time in my life. And unfortunately, I’m sort of left wondering, what’s the big deal? Am I really smart, or are these mysteries really dumb?

I’m reminded of this bit of dialogue from Throw Momma From The Train:

Larry Donner
It was a murder mystery, three pages long, that, by the way, was no big trick in finding the murderer!

Owen Lift
Well, what gave it away?

Larry Donner
You only had two characters . . . one of which was dead on page two!