One person and another : on writers and writing /

Stern is not a household name, but he has quite a reputation among other writers who, because of their respect, have shown sides of themselves to him--an observant chronicler of their careers and books with much to say about the craft of writing--that have rarely been seen by other profilers. Stern shares his insights in this set of essays. He lets Samuel Beckett's warm heart be seen, also a rarely revealed, self-deprecating side of Saul Bellow: "Maybe now I can write something really good for a change," he ventures after winning the Nobel. Reviewing biographies of figures as diverse as Nixon and Kafka, Stern develops his own ideas of what their lives must have been like and in so doing creates some provocative new images. Elsewhere--as in a tiny play intended to show what would have become of literature if Dante and Shakespeare had had to fear modern lawsuits--Stern hilariously satirizes some of the obstacles facing contemporary writers. Although the collection does reflect the jaded world view that has made Stern's fiction distinctive, Stern also convincingly argues that books--and those who create them--make life undeniably worthwhile. ~--Aaron Cohen

Issued as the nonfiction accompaniment to Stern's Noble Rot: Stories 1949-1988 (Grove, 1989), this volume collects 63 short writings on 20th-century literary topics, composed from 1956 to 1993. The work includes biography, criticism, and commentary on fiction and poetry, as well as a master writer's impressions of life. It is organized not chronologically but in thematic sections such as ``Literary Portraits'' and ``Getting at Oneself.'' Its value lies in its disclosure of the thoughts of a working writer considering the art and business of writing. A lengthy section devoted to the 1986 PEN Congress gives an insider's view of the authors' politicized worlds. Stern's personal relationships with associates such as Saul Bellow offer a kind of analysis unlike that of a disinterested critic. While the book doesn't lend itself to being read cover to cover, readers with literary interests will find its scope satisfying. For academic and public collections.-- Janice Braun, Hoover Inst . Lib., Stanford Univ. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.