Summary: In his 25-year career as a fiction writer, Charles Baxter has established himself as one of our great contemporary American novelists. Perhaps best known for his National Book Award-nominated The Feast of Love (which will be released this fall as a major motion picture starring Morgan Freeman), Baxter is the author of four novels, four collections of short stories, three collections of poems, and a collection of essays on fiction. In his new novel, The Soul Thief, Baxter delivers a beautifully wrought and unexpected work of fiction about Nathaniel Mason, a graduate student living in Buffalo, who through a chain of illusive relationships and complex events learns his identity may in fact not be his own. Acutely observed in its emotional and terrifying detail, The Soul Thief explores the slippery nature of identity in American culture. In addition to telling us about the book's haunting inspiration, Baxter reflects on writing and takes audience questions. Recorded live on February 28, 2008 from the Minneapolis Central Library's Pohlad Hall. The Talk of the Stacks is presented by The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library and US Trust.
