Literary Life: A Second Memoir - Hardcover

McMurtry, Larry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439159939 ISBN 13: 9781439159934

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2009

Synopsis

· A critically acclaimed memoirist: McMurtry’s nonfiction works, including his most recent memoir, Books , have received rave reviews from readers and critics alike. In this follow-up to Books , McMurtry explores the trials and triumphs of being a writer. .

· Writing from the other side of the fence: Recounting moments from his earliest inkling of a future career to his tenure as a Wallace Stegner fellow at Stamford to his success as a published author, Literary Life will be cherished by McMurtry fans and aspiring writers alike. Including literary anecdotes and gossip, and packed with memorable observations about writing, writers, and the author himself, the book will provide rare insight into the mind of a brilliant, intensely private writer. .

About this title

About the Author:

Larry McMurtry is the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove, three memoirs, two collections of essays, and more than thirty screenplays. He lives in Archer City, Texas.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this, the second of three planned memoirs, McMurtry takes a laconic look back over a life in letters that now includes some 40 books and an equal number of screenplays. Best known for the popular movies made from his novels, including Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show, McMurtry also co-wrote the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain and served two terms as the president of American PEN. This makes for a lot of literary living, and McMurtry reminisces about interactions with such luminaries as Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag, and John Updike, as well as lesser-known figures like Michael Korda and Grover Lewis. Throughout his career, McMurtry has mostly written about his native Texas and the American West, and the early chapters provide a fascinating look into the artistic development of smalltown boy into writer during the 1950s and 1960s. Further on, the book declines into a series of hit-and-miss literary anecdotes, with McMurtry's side business as a bookseller providing many of the highlights. McMurtry's understated style is charming and deceptively sophisticated, although at times it is so laconic as to lack a pulse. Still, the old master proves entertaining. (Jan.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439159939
• ISBN 13: 9781439159934
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192