Filed Under:

Fired And Foreclosed: Unemployment Lit

Play associated audio

Like many of its readers, the novel has always lived for the weekend; historically, the workaday world of the office and factory has been considered too mundane to be of much interest.

Even less sexy to fiction than the topic of work is the topic of losing work. Being fired, losing homes to foreclosure, searching for a new job in middle age — these are the grim situations so many readers today are facing. The good news is that a few standout recent novels have ingeniously decided to tackle unemployment head-on.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

NPR

Book News: Stephen King's New Bogeyman? Digital Publishing

Also: the legacy of Kierkegaard; the creator of Lyle Crocodile has died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.
NPR

Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With Weed

Despite its name, the "pot pig" experiment isn't an attempt to develop a new meaty treat for stoners. Instead, a Seattle butcher is feeding marijuana seeds, stems and root bulbs to swine as a cheeky money-saving measure.
NPR

'I Was Dismayed' To Learn What Agency Did, Ex-IRS Chief Says

Under Douglas Shulman's watch, IRS personnel singled out some conservative groups for extra scrutiny. That, he conceded Tuesday, has "justifiably led to questions" about the tax agency's motivation.
NPR

Tumblr Users Urge New Owner Yahoo To Keep The Site Weird

When news of Yahoo's purchase of Tumblr first hit, Tumblr users took their reactions online. The posts were quirky and sharp with plenty of worry about the future.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.