Magic Hours

I believe my favorite essay in this book is "Writing about writing about writing." Why? Because it most resembles what I thought this book was -- a guide to becoming more creative and better at the writing craft. That being said that particular essay goes beyong my expectations and shares a lot of wisdom with the audience. The first essay "Unflowered Aloes" is pretty depressing for a hopeful writer to read. But it is honest. All his essays are honest and full of detail only a great nonfiction writer could glean from interviews. I enjoyed reading "A Simple Medium" about Chuck Lorre and the American Sitcom. After reading it I feel I understand Lorre a little bit and am very impressed with the work that goes into an episode of "The Big Bang Theory." He writes about documentary films. He writes about a very strange film I have no interest seeing called "The Room." That had to be a weird interview he had with the man behind that film! I enjoyed reading about Lorre's vanity cards -- those are hilarious. I've never noticed them. I"ll notice them now. Bissell's writing sounds conversational. If you like to read nonfiction essays then you'll like this book. You will glean some information about many creative fields but you won't glean any tips on how to get better in your own creative field. That's not what this book is for.

This is a reissued, reprinted book just with a new cover. Not that I'm complaining. Good to repackage yourself. A collection of essays. Some are brilliant, some very long and draggy. No matter the content, the author's voice shines through. Tom Bissell knows what he likes and what he doesn't like and he's not afraid to share those opinions. Liked how the essays were arranged in the book.

I've been a fan of Tom Bissell for almost 15 years now. This updated version of Magic Hours, originally published, 6 years ago, does not disappoint, especially for the essays that focus on writers and the challenges of being a writer. As a former book editor, Bissell writes about the role of luck and caprice in a writer's career and publication success. He writes about how the passing moods and volatile discussions of publishers can make or break a writer, regardless of the writer's merits. Bissell calls these "unliterary accidents." He addresses his role in launching Paula Fox's masterpiece novel Desperate Characters, which didn't get proper attention till decades after its original publication, and he writes that Moby-Dick did not become "literature" till after 76 years after its original publication.In his essay "Grief and the Outsider," he characterizes writers as misfits and address the tormented writer John Kennedy Toole of the cult classic A Confederacy of Dunces. Much of this essay describes what Bissell calls the "ULA," the Underground Literary Alliance, which Bissell describes as "The ghastliest group of no-talent writers to have ever walked the earth."The best essays capture the torment and permanent outsider status of the writer and separate great writers from others. As Bissell quotes the critic Robert Hughes: "The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."

Magic Hours is a cerebral collection of eighteen essays with a common theme: how does an artist go about creating great works of art? Bissell's chosen subjects include famous authors such as Melville and Hemingway, film and television directors, and more modern authors like Jim Harrison, William Vollmann, and David Foster Wallace whose groundbreaking writing styles and genius are perhaps undervalued. In selecting these particular subjects from the multitude of artists and appraising their work, Bissell comes across rather like a miner of hidden gems, noting in a meticulous, yet often humorous way, the color, clarity and brilliance of their artistic creations. Unsurprisingly, these artists live unconventional lives, and Bissell spends generous time interviewing several of them to understand the magic hours they spend imparting their unique worldviews on their artistic creations. Although some of the essays can be incredibly dense and slow going, especially for those with no previous familiarity with the subject (The Secret Mainstream, and essay on filmmaker Werner Herzog being a good example), I found something inspiring in each of them and closed this book with a renewed desire to write more fiction, with no hope or expectation for payoff beyond knowing that I have created my purest form of art.

This is a book many lit-heads will enjoy. Bissell is a generous essayist, self-effacing, often funny. Go with him as an invited guest to some of the quirkiest scenarios you can imagine. The opening chapter is about the "re-discovery" of Paula Fox's adult novels, which particularly interested me. This reprint is a welcome addition to any literate-minded person's collection.