Famous Writers I Have Known
James Magnuson, 2014
W.W. Norton & Co.
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780393240887
Summary
In this brilliant mix of literary satire and crime caper, Frankie Abandonato, a small-time con man on the run, finds refuge by posing as V. S. Mohle—a famously reclusive writer—and teaching in a prestigious writing program somewhere in Texas. Streetwise and semiliterate, Frankie finds that being treated as a genius agrees with him.
The program has been funded by Rex Schoeninger, the world’s richest novelist, who is dying. Buzzards are circling, angling for the remains of Rex’s fortune, and Frankie quickly realizes that he has been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Complicating matters is the fact that Rex is haunted by a twenty-five-year feud with the shadowy Mohle. What rankles Rex is that, while he has written fifty bestsellers and never gotten an ounce of literary respect, Mohle wrote one slender novel, disappeared into the woods, and become an icon. Determined to come to terms with his past, Rex has arranged to bring his rival to Texas, only to find himself facing off against an imposter.
Famous Writers I Have Known is not just an unforgettable literary romp but also a surprisingly tender take on two men—one a scam artist frantic to be believed, the other an old lion desperate to be remembered. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
James Magnuson is the author of eight previous novels in addition to his new 2014 Famous Writers I Have Known. He is a former Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for his fiction, and the winner of the Jesse Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters.
Magnuson currently directs the James A. Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. (From the publisher.)
In his words:
Some thirty-plus years ago, I was a totally broke playwright in New York. One June weekend I went to a wedding in the far reaches of the Catskills and caught a ride back to Manhattan with a young Princeton professor of African Religion. Somewhere along the Taconic Parkway, he asked me what I did, and I spent a half hour telling him about the one-acts I'd been putting on in various churches and street theaters in East Harlem.
Two weeks later he called and asked if he could nominate me for an award. What award is that, I wanted to know. It's an award for promising young writers and scholars, he said. I certainly was unknown and whether or not I was promising was open to debate, but I spent a weekend filling out the application form he sent me. . . . (Read more on the author's website.)
Book Reviews
The novel’s screwball premise suggests a mash-up of an academic comedy by David Lodge and a wisecracking Elmore Leonard caper. Its title and its author’s day job...promise a knowing satire of academia and the literary world.... The novel is breezy and diverting enough, but as satire goes, it’s pretty mild-mannered. Magnuson’s lampoon of writing programs lacks the venom and specificity that, say, Francine Prose brought to similar material in Blue Angel. And his characterization of Schoeninger, “best-selling author of all time, philanthropist, champion of education,” resembles a tamer version of the hero from The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature.
Adam Langer - New York Times Book Review
Conman and writer—not two career choices [one] would likely put together—but James Magnuson's new novel, Famous Writers I Have Known, does just that. Director of the University of Texas's writing program, Magnuson knows a thing or two about teaching his craft.... The story he tells of his unusual and comic and sweetly told caper will be addictive in itself for all passionate writers and readers.
NPR
New York City hustler Frankie Abandonato finds himself....mistaken for a famous author, the reclusive, J.D. Salinger-like V.S. Mohle.... [Y]oung fans whisk Frankie away to an elite writing program where the great man is slated to teach.... Part satire of the creative writing industry (MFAs, awards, egos), part snappy grifter tale, this novel is a fast, fun read. Magnuson’s writing is strong, though his characters’ relationships sometimes lack believability.
Publishers Weekly
[A] poorly designed caper....will disappoint readers looking for more hard-edged action, while those expecting literary scuttlebutt will find a campus scene that's altogether too mellow. Only toward the end does the action resume, with Frankie, self-described poor schlub that he is, making mistake after mistake. A novel that aims to appeal to two different readerships but is unlikely to satisfy either one.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
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