A master of contemporary fiction joyously assesses some of the best of the 19th century.
The renowned author delivers a master class on the Russian short story and on the timeless value of fiction.
Though Saunders is known mainly as an inventive, award-winning writer—of novels, short stories, cultural criticism—he has also taught creative writing at Syracuse since 1997. “Some of the best moments of my life…have been spent teaching that Russian class,” he writes. This is the book version of that class, illuminating seven stories by the masters: three by Chekhov, two by Tolstoy, and one each by Turgenev and Gogol. All stories are included in full, and readers need not be familiar with Russian literature to find this plan richly rewarding. Opening with Chekhov’s “The Cart,” Saunders shows just how closely we’ll be reading—a page or two of the original text at a time followed by multiple pages of commentary. The author seeks to answer “the million-dollar question: What makes a reader keep reading?” As he shows throughout this thrilling literary lesson, the answer has little to do with conventional notions of theme and plot; it’s more about energy, efficiency, intentionality, and other “details of internal dynamics.” Saunders explains how what might seem like flaws often work in the story’s favor and how we love some stories even more because of—rather than in spite of—those flaws. Saunders is always careful not to confuse the internal workings of a story with authorial intent. Once we become accustomed to reading like he reads, we proceed through the stories with great joy, anticipating even further delights with his explications to follow. “The resistance in the stories,” he writes, “is quiet, at a slant, and comes from perhaps the most radical idea of all: that every human being is worthy of attention and that the origins of every good and evil capability of the universe may be found by observing a single, even very humble, person and the turnings of his or her mind.”
A master of contemporary fiction joyously assesses some of the best of the 19th century.Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984856-02-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Wolff continues his memoirs in this excellent volume, with his keen prose, dispassionate mordancy, and writer's attention to mood and characters applied to Vietnam's moral absurdity. The target rifles, scout troops, and juvenile delinquency described in This Boy's Life (1989) find ironic parallels here in M-16s, Special Forces, and wartime cynicism. After flunking out of prep school and jumping ship in the merchant marine, Wolff drifted into the army at 18 in 1965, having given little real thought to either the war or adulthood. Basic training and officer's candidate school subsequently confirmed to him his unsuitability for the soldier's life while the Army mechanically processed him along. His field posting as a military liaison to the South Vietnamese army, however, was less hazardous than his boot-camp peers' lethal assignments to the north. Initially, his most complicated mission was trading a Chinese rifle for a distant base's color TV in time for the ``Bonanza'' Thanksgiving special, and his luck held throughout the constant threat of Vietcong snipers and even the Tet Offensive. Alongside the obtuse inefficiency of his gung-ho replacement and the ``Quiet American'' idealism of a Foreign Service friend, Wolff's potential for youthful self-delusion and malevolence are only heightened in Vietnam; these are expressed in his insincere defense of the war in an argument with the father of a friend (who would desert just before shipping out) and his willful negligence to spite an officer, which resulted in a hamlet being flattened under a hovering Chinook helicopter. After coming unscathed out of this dispiriting and undistinguished tour of duty, Wolff attended a send-off party with Vietnamese hosts who, in mocking recognition of his services, served a dog stew made from the puppy he had adopted on his arrival. If less intense than his earlier memoir's portrayal of a troubled childhood, this candid work evenly weighs the many costs and few gains of coming of age in a war.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-40217-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
The audience for this long-winded but well-meaning memoir will consist of TV-biz nerds and Cagney & Lacey devotees.
A memoir for hardcore fans of Cagney & Lacey, penned by its former producer.
From 1982 to 1986, the acclaimed TV series was one of CBS’s prime-time anchors, garnering huge audiences, critical plaudits and numerous awards. Producer Rosenzweig was there from the beginning to the bitter end. The author adored the show; it was his baby, and he made certain that everything about it–the writing, acting, casting and costumes–met with his exacting standards. His love for the show was so enduring that more than 20 years after it was cancelled, he was compelled to share the entire experience in a lengthy memoir. Though the author’s heart is in the right place, the book is detailed to the point of tedium: Each battle with the network, financial negotiation, encounter with the actors and the writing staff is related in painful detail. The book is written in bite-size, episodic chapters, which makes the narrative uneven, and the prose is often clumsy–“Scoff and titter are not commonplace verbs in my vocabulary. They are the only terms I can conjure to portray the behavior to which I felt I was being exposed.” Readers won’t begrudge Rosenzweig for sharing his moment in the sun with the TV-watching public. His passion for the show and television in general is palpable, and this book might well inspire budding producers to follow their aspirations.
The audience for this long-winded but well-meaning memoir will consist of TV-biz nerds and Cagney & Lacey devotees.Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2006
ISBN: 978-0-595-41193-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
