THE 1511 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT 84105 InkslingerSpring Issue 2 019 801-484-9100 The Arc of History: A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles An Interview with Amor Towles— A young Russian count is saved from He’ll be in SLC April 2! a Bolshevik bullet because of a pre- by Betsy Burton revolution pro-revolution poem. Given his aristocratic upbringing he can’t go I called Amor Towles to talk to him free. So what is a Communist Commit- about A Gentleman in Moscow, but be- tee of the Commissariat to do? Put this fore we started with questions he won- unsuspicious suspect under house arrest dered who I was and whether we hadn’t in the grand hotel in which he’s staying, of met before at some book dinner or course. A hotel that, like Count Alexan- other. Knowing how often he speaks in der Ilyich Rostov himself, is allowed to exist for secret reasons public, I was surprised he remembered. of state. Our Count is nothing if not creative, and it isn’t long We had met, I said. Had sat next to one before his courtly manners and charm create a constella- another at a breakfast—an American tion of comrades that will inhabit your heart: Nina, a child Booksellers event at which he was the who teaches him the fine art of spying; her daughter Sophia, keynote speaker a couple of years ago. I decades later; his old friend, the poet Mishka; the glamorous thought so, he said. After chatting for a actress, Anna Urbanova; the hotel staff… As witty, cosmopoli- few minutes, I asked my first question tan, and unflappable as the Scarlet Pimpernel on the outside, Amor Towles, who will be in SLC as kind and as thoughtful as Tolstoy’s Pierre Bezukhov on the which was, admittedly, longwinded. on April 2. See page 2 for details. inside, Alexander Rostov is a character out of time—someone BB: The incarceration of a person as pampered as Count Rostov in who transcends time in the manner of fairy tale heroes and a small room in the hotel in which he had previously lived in luxury captures our hearts in the process. As does Towles’ profound, would be—despite the relief at being alive—the ultimate in humilia- witty, erudite, historically intriguing, and thoroughly enter- tion. I loved the aplomb with which he copes—immediately deter- taining novel, newly published in paperback. – Betsy Burton, mined to deal with life’s practicalities by turning them into routines Penguin, $17 and rituals in order to bestow dignity (continued on page 4) Indie Bookstore Day Turns 5 on Saturday April 27! Indie Bookstore Day (IBD) 2019 is 7 p.m. Local blogger Heather B. Armstrong will Saturday, April 27th. TKE will have discuss her memoir, The Valedictorian of Being giveaways galore and unique items for Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to sale—only on that day and only in the Live. store. Events include: So join us in fun and frivolity and support your 11 a.m. A special Sesame Street local Indie Bookstore! That’s Saturday, April storytime. Can you help Elmo find his 27th, all day. And, again this year, if you visit puppy? four participating northern Utah independent 2 p.m. We’ll bookshops on Independent Bookstore Day and have experts complete the Indie Bookstore Day Passport, here to share you’ll be eligible to win 20% off your purchases for one year from one The Great Great Salt Lake Monster Mystery of the stores! along with some fun and funny activities! FREE AUDIOBOOKS TOO! Audiobooks give you the ability to listen to great books, anytime See the Spring Calendar on page 2 for and anywhere. The King’s English is partnering with Libro.fm to offer monthly memberships and a special Indie Bookstore Day offer details for Amor Towles in SLC and on Saturday, April 27th, to thank you for your support. Create your all upcoming events! Libro.fm account now at www.kingsenglish.com so you will be ready to get your free audiobooks on the 27th. Then come celebrate with us at the store! Spring into TKE for These Events! Saturday, April 27, 7 p.m. Local blogger Adults Heather B. Armstrong will share her star- tling memoir, The Valedictorian of Being Thursday, March 28, 7 p.m. Well-known author and activist Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times Rebecca Solnit will receive the Utah Award in the Environmen- to Live. Tickets available on Eventbrite. tal Humanities at the downtown library. Thursday, May 9, As Tuesday, April 2, 7 p.m. The inimitable part of QTalks at the Amor Towles will join us to discuss A Utah Pride Center, Gentleman in Moscow at Rowland Hall’s Dustin Lance Black OUT! SOLD Larimer Auditorium. Editor’s note: Event will discuss his new sold out! Signed copies available at TKE memoir, Mama’s Boy: A Story from Our April 3. Americas. Time to be announced. Thursday, April 4, 7 p.m. The University Friday, May 17, 7 p.m. of Utah’s Guest Writers series welcomes Celeste Ng will join Francisco Cantú and Antonio Ruiz-Cama- us to celebrate the pa- cho at the downtown library as a part of perback release of Little Fires Everywhere. their Borderlands Conference. Paisley Rekdal, Utah’s Poet Laureate, will join her in conversation. Friday, April 5, 1 p.m. The University of Utah’s Guest Writers series welcomes Yuri Herrera and Natalie Scenters-Zapico at Saturday, May 18, the downtown library as a part of their Borderlands Confer- 2 p.m. Nicole Tomlin ence. will lead the way with Best Dog Hikes Utah. Thursday, April 11, 7 p.m. Salt Lake native Ronald Scott will read from and sign his new novel, The Mending. Thursday, April 25, 7 p.m. Kirk Johnson will join us to discuss The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. Ever dream of writing a book? What if you created a book so amazing it got published Friday, April 26, and then featured in the Inkslinger? 7 p.m. Author Rebec- Big dreams start small, ca M. Robinson and photographer Ste- and they begin with the first few words phen E. Strom will join us to discuss their on the first few pages. wonderful new collaboration, Voices from Join us, a faculty of nationally published authors, Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on for an exclusive one-day event. First Pages: Workshop for Beginning Writers Sacred Land. Saturday, March 30th, from 8:30am - 6:00pm Saturday, April 27, ALL DAY is Indepen- University of Utah Guest House dent Bookstore Day. Come and join the ticket price: $175* fun at the bookshop from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Please visit first-pages.com to view list of amazing faculty, see our schedule, and purchase tickets. first pages It is our pleasure to oer customers of The King’s English Bookshop and Inkslinger readers $50 o their ticket price. Simply use the code INKSLINGER19 at checkout. *tickets sold through Eventbrite.com 2 Thursday, April 4, 7 p.m. Margaret Peterson Kids and Young Adults Haddix will introduce her new middle grade series, Greystone Secrets. Wednesday, March 27, 7 p.m. Julie Berry will Monday, April 15, 7 p.m. read from and sign her new teen novel, Lovely Fran Wilde will be in War, at the Provo Library. conversation with Dan Wells about her new novel, Thursday, March 28, 7 p.m. Riverland. Julie Berry joins us at the bookshop to discuss Lovely Tuesday, April 16, 3:30 p.m. War. Don’t miss a special visit from the Very Hungry Caterpillar! Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m. Local favorite Rosalyn Eves Saturday, April 27, will read from and sign 2 p.m. Join us for a lively storytime featur- Winter War Awakening. ing The Great Great Salt Lake Monster Mystery! Tuesday, April 2, 7 p.m. Ridley Pearson will read from and sign Super Monday, April 29, 7 p.m. The Simon & Sons: The Polar Shield Project. Schuster Shelf Queens—Jessica Brody, Nicki Pau Preto, Joanne Rendell, Kiersten White and Suzanne Young—will join us for a panel discussion of their new teen novels. WHAT OUR BOOK CLUBS ARE READING NOW All are open to the public and meet at the bookshop unless otherwise noted. ROZ READS! Last Monday, Tuesday & Wednes- ARMCHAIR TRAVEL MYSTERY day of the month, 7 p.m. 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m. See www.rozreads.com for details. April: Snowblind, $10 per evening paid to Roz Ragnar Jo’nasson April: Anything Is Possible, May: The Master Key, Elizabeth Strout Masako Togawa May: The Friend, Sigrid Nunez BRIAN SHORT SLC LESBIAN 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m. 1st Wednesday of the month, April: A Gentleman in Moscow, 7 p.m. at the Anderson-Foothill Amor Towles Library April: Bright Lights of Summer, SECOND MONDAY Lynn Ames 2nd Monday of the month; May: Stray City, Chelsey Johnson 7 p.m., $5 April: The Song of Achilles, YA & WINE Madeline Miller 2nd Wednesday of the month, May: Borrowed Horses, 7 p.m. Sian Griffiths April: The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi May: Stalking Jack the Ripper, Kerri Maniscalco 3 The Arc of History: An Interview with Amor Towles continued from page 1 ever way one can involve avoiding the danger of becoming a bore? Of allowing the confines of one’s existence to narrow one’s mind and point of view? I guess that’s the converse of what we were just talking about.