If you asked me to name my favorite living writer in Ohio I would tell you it is Donald Ray Pollock. If you asked me to name my favorite living author in any other state I could not do it, with one exception: my favorite living author who lives in Alaska is a guy named John Straley. John lives in Sitka and he recently retired from his job as a public defender. Now he has time to write lots of books! Oh, how lucky we are.
His latest offering, "What Is Time to a Pig?" is set in the very near future; Alaska had become a center for the private prison industry and there were nuclear warheads scattered about after the North Koreans shot a missile at us. John's protagonist in the story, an incarcerated Native Alaskan named Gloomy Knob, has no idea what has become of those scattered warheads but the terrorists and other assorted bad guys who are convinced he does know the whereabouts of those dangerous items are not inclined to believe him.
John Straley can really a spin a yarn. He's also a master at delivering a good joke. This story is no joke but if you listen to this podcast you'll hear John retell an old joke that has a punchline which is the basis for his novel's title.
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.
