An author reflects on his past, his place, and his craft

Russo, Richard.  Life and Art: Essays.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2025.  ISBN:

        9780593802168

 

Are you interested in what makes a writer write?  What demons or angels perch on his or her shoulders and whisper in their ears words of encouragement or discouragement?  Some authors are willing to take the reader behind that curtain where the sausage is made and discuss their process.  Other authors are more willing to talk about what inspired them to write a particular story or novel.  Richard Russo is more of the latter in this volume of essays.

 

Part 1 of this collection  - Life - has essays dealing with his life, his parental relationships and how those shaped his life and his writing.  He warns folks to be wary of writers since they are often guilty of taking events that they witness and using them as fodder for their stories.  He pleads guilty to that fact in regard to a number of his books.  He also reveals family events and interactions during the essays to make a point with the reader.  

 

Then in Part - Art - Russo discusses both the craft and the storytelling aspects of  writing.  He elucidates on using other folks lives in his stories, how the order of words affects the message being delivered, and then has fun discussing books, movies, and the art of turning one into the other.

 

So if you are looking for one author's perspective on a varied number of topics, feel free to pick up and peruse Richard Russo's Life and Art!