Novels About Writing

[sarillia]

Every once in a while I get in a mood where I like to read fiction centered around writers. I find it interesting and motivating. But I need to broaden my selection. There are three books that I keep going back to when I get in this mood.

Misery by Stephen King. Most people think of the "crazy fan" angle before really considering the writer protagonist, but besides the suspense and horror, the thing that keeps bringing me back is the fun of reading about his writing process.

Hygiene and the Assassin by Amelie Nothomb. This one belongs to a group of books I go back to when I'm in a different mood too: when I want to read something that provokes strong feelings. I can't stand the writer in this book. But I find his opinions fascinating. It's got a lot of interesting things that make me think, like "If I knew what I was thinking, I suppose I would never have become a writer".

London Fields by Martin Amis. I go to this one less often but I still enjoy reading about how the main character (though I'm not sure I would call him the protagonist) turns the lives of the people he meets into his next novel.

Does anyone else like reading books like this? Do you have any suggestions for others?

Comments

[inevitableentresol]

I usually avoid books about writers/writing the same way that I avoid songs about the process of songwriting. I find they become too self-referential.

One book I do enjoy though is The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry. A main character is a poet and the narrator is a writer, I think.

At Swim Two Birds by Flann O'Brien is another favourite. It has a book within a book within a book, which I love.

[lunabee34]

Possession by A.S. Byatt

This is probably my favorite book. It cuts back and forth between scholars who are researching Victorian authors and the lives of the Victorian authors themselves. It's all about the joys of scholarship and writing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Drood by Dan Simmons
Actually just about everything by Dan Simmons. Illium and Olympos for sure.