The current featured contributor to
Writers Read: Vali Chandrasekaran, co-author of
The Ridiculous Race.
One book he mentions:
Sin In the Second City, Karen Abbott's vivid history of an early 1900s high-class whorehouse. The book starts with the murder of rich department store heir and, within the first 70 pages, features characters named Bathhouse John, Hinky Dink Kenna, Big Jim, and Mushmouth Johnson. By page 100, readers relive the night Prince Henry of Prussia visited the brothel and watched harlots dance in fawnskin and devour a platter of raw sirloin. It's an interesting insight into what used to give rich-dudes erections. [read on]
Visit
The Ridiculous Race Facebook page and
learn more about the book at the publisher's website.
Kirkus Reviews on
The Ridiculous Race:
"…will make readers laugh and cry, often simultaneously. Hely’s Victorian notions of world travel and the glory of bygone eras
provide the perfect foil for Chandrasekaran’s glib embrace of the comforts of modern life. Their comically inoffensive braggadocio is akin to your older brother’s tales of his misspent youth; Chandrasekaran and Hely might be slightly obnoxious, but therein lies their charm. Hilarious travel writing for the chronically snarky."
Vali Chandrasekaran writes for television’s
My Name Is Earl. In 2006, his script
Jump for Joy was nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award. He has been an editor of
The Harvard Lampoon and a management consultant for Boston Consulting Group, and he runs the Web site
Vali’s Views. In a memorable turn
on-screen, he played the role of “Vali” on the NBC hit comedy
The Office.
Writers Read: Vali Chandrasekaran.
--Marshal Zeringue
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