Peter Selgin

Whew! Or maybe Wow! Because Peter Selgin's latest novel has left me all but speechless, wondering what I can say about it. Outrageously original? Experimental? Tongue-in-cheek? Weird? I mean they all fit, kinda. But, as so many blah-blah politicians today are so fond of saying, "Let me be clear." I loved this book.

With a failed novelist as narrator - one Stewart Detweiler - there is plenty here about writers and the writing life, and all the things they're compelled to do to make a living. But Stewart has a twin, Gregory, who is a stodgy professor suddenly turned best-selling author/self-help guru. Once close, now they are estranged. So there are also large helpings here about twins, duality, mirror images, doubles, duplicates and "Duplicity." Hence the title. And, of course, there's that dead body on page one.

But what's it aBOUT, this duplicitous tome? Well, if you believe the narrator, It might be just much ado about nothing. Stewart himself says -

"... to be great a novel should have no subject, or rather it should have nothing as its subject ... To write about nothing is much harder than it sounds. One way to do it, the only way, actually, is to write about everything, since - being equal opposites - everything and nothing are two sides of the same coin ..."

I was reminded of SEINFELD, the TV show purportedly "about nothing." However, unlike poor Stewart's novels "of pure atmosphere," SEINFELD went on to enjoy multiple seasons of immense popularity with millions of avid viewers. Stewart on the other hand, continued to write, rewrite and revise his "novel about a blocked novelist's struggle to write a novel about a blocked novelist trying to write a novel [etc.]."

But despite tepid reviews, rejections and lack of commercial success, Stewart Detweiler persisted, now into his fifties, working various low-paying scut-work jobs to pay the bills, until he finally landed a position as Senior Instructor at the Metropolitan Writing Institute, holding court in a seedy basement classroom in NYC. There he went through the motions of teaching and continued to work on his own growing 'opus.' He also enjoyed a brief affair with a beautiful young student, Ashley Bridges, which soon fizzled out due to the unfortunate side effects of meds he was taking for his enlarged prostate. And the tale of the prostate is but one of the many digressions found herein. Truth is, I enjoy digressions. People do that. They digress, and often down strange, piddling little paths. But Stewart was serious as death about his profession, and tried to explain this to Ashley -

"Writing's not a career, it's a way of life. You don't choose it; it chooses you. You have no choice, not if you're a real writer. If you're a real writer, you'll starve before you'll quit ... you'll scribble away in your lonesome garret as your health declines and the rejections pile up like snow on Mt. Fuji. Still you won't quit, no matter how badly you want to, not till you're dead."

Selgin is obviously accomplished and well-read in many of the arts - music, painting and more. This is most apparent as Stewart descends gradually into paranoia and maybe even madness, reading his dead father's notebooks and despairing that a book is "a hopelessly flimsy contraption of words." He yearns -

"To write a book unpredictable not just in terms of plot but at the paragraph and sentence levels. Novel as concerto/symphony of moods, rhythms, and textures, a movie soundtrack minus the movie; a gallery wherein works are displayed willy-nilly, without order or agenda."

That kind of unpredictability is nearly achieved in DUPLICITY, a dense potpourri of art, music, comedy and tragedy. And maybe - just maybe - about twins? Well, you've got to read the book. In the meantime, I really want to read Peter Selgin's two memoirs. And maybe his collection of essays. And maybe his other fiction too. And maybe ... Ah hell, I'd really like to read ALL of his stuff. What a writer! I loved this book. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (más)

An excellent, unique book. I'm going to order this book for my English 307: Writing the Literary Novel course next term. What's unique about it is its rich collection of good quality brief samples of work in progress. The strengths and weaknesses of these texts are clearly analyzed by Peter Selgin with an intelligent eye, and students can see how to improve their own work. Reading the contemporary masters of fiction is valuable, but inevitably a chasm is created. This book helps to realistically bridge that chasm and get students on the road to increasingly more efficient results in their own writing.… (más)

I have quite a few writing books in my library already, but when I saw this new release in a thrift store for a few dollars, I had to buy it.

Selgin's book covers the basic elements of writing, such as people, plot, dialogue and voice. He relies heavily on examples from classic and current literature and quotes from famous authors, and it works very well; even at 250 pages, it's a very quick read. The voice is pleasant as well - never condescending.

However, if you have any other books on writing, there isn't really anything new here except for enjoyable quotes such as Hemingway's statement, "All first drafts are excrement." If a writer wants to learn more of the revision and editing process, this book is okay, but doesn't delve into the essential nitty-gritty details like Browne and King's Self-Editing for Writers. Selgin's final chapter on "Inspiration, Perspiration, and Publication" didn't fit the flow of the rest of the book at all. It spoke in far too general terms about the submissions process and what should be included. The publisher, Writer's Digest, has scads of books on the preparation of query letters alone.

In all, not a bad book if you're just starting to work on a writing career or your writing library, but I probably won't be keeping this on my shelf.… (más)