- Paperback: 289 pages
- Publisher: Harvest Books; Reprint edition (7 Sep 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0156030128
- ISBN-13: 978-0156030120
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.7 x 1.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,115,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Nora Howard, a thirty-five-year-old writer, is almost always in the grip of a creative fever, but though she always starts out intending to write fiction, she soon finds that the problems and misfortunes of her friends, relatives, and acquaintances seep into her stories. Before long, she is reading into the real person's mind and divining thoughts, motivations, and emotions--and using these observations in her stories. Though this leads to stunning realism, her friends feel betrayed.
When Nora reconnects with Isaac Mitchell, an art photographer and former lover who was a major part of her life five years before, he is hesitant about resuming their past relationship. His early promise as a creative artist has not borne fruit in the way he has hoped, and he is now working as deputy photo editor for a newspaper, a job that he enjoys, though he fears that he is no longer the "moral touchstone" that Nora once thought him.
In alternating chapters, Nora and Isaac tell their stories, past and present. The story of Nora's "writing life" becomes more complex when her aunt Billie, her only remaining relative, becomes seriously ill, and Nora must make sacrifices. Meanwhile, Isaac's young protégée Renee is finding great success, and he can't help resenting the fact that for her, photography seems far easier and more natural than it does for him.
Exploring the creative life in detail here, author Brian Morton demonstrates that for Isaac, "photography had [once] taken the place of prayer in his life" and for Nora, "it was the best way she had ever found to express her fascination with life, her quarrels with life." The sacrifices and compromises one makes for art are nicely realized, and when Nora writes a story about a character named, symbolically, "Gabriel," a story she is submitting to an Atlantic magazine contest, the stage is set for a confrontation with Isaac. Billie's illness leads to a broadening of themes and to additional questions, not only about the creative life, but about how we find personal satisfaction and how we want to be remembered.
Homely details and dialogue give insights into the relationships of the characters, while Morton's unpretentious style keeps the reader focused on the here and now. The realism is leavened with irony and humor, at the same time that the author makes important points about who we are, as opposed to who we want to be. Through small events and small details, Morton keeps his novel focused, showing real people learning or not learning from their experiences. Mary Whipple
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
21 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Read this book!
23 Mar 2004
Format:Hardcover
This is truly one of the best books I've ever read by someone who's still breathing.
It all rang true, from the New York atmosphere to the ups and downs of the couple's relationship to the slight tinge of resentment over Nora's mostly giving and sweet relationship with her aunt. Every page brought the sort of "ah-ha" moment when you read something that seems like it should be obvious but that is worded in a way that makes it seem entirely new and fresh--kind of, "I could have thought of that--nah, who am I kidding."
This is one of those books that you finish and instantly turn back to page one to start again and recommend to your friends while envying them the experience of discovering it for the first time.
Wonderful, just wonderful.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
a writer's read (and for non-writers too!)
23 Sep 2004
Format:Paperback
Starting Out In the Evening, Brian Morton's second novel, made me an afficianado of his work, since the book was that refreshing and rare treat: a novel about a writer. Writers often avoid writing about writers, perhaps fearing that their fiction will be disdained as being too autobiographical. As a result, there are far too many writer-characters out there who are thinly and inadequately disguised as artists, composers, etc. It's a blessing to find an author brave enough--and in love enough with the mysteries, joys, and challenges of the writing process--to step up to the plate and address them. (Starting Out also offers heartbreaking meditations on aging--the main character reflects, for instance, that he feels ashamed of his aging body, as if he's done something wrong in getting old.)
In his third novel, A Window Across the River, Morton offers more trenchant writer portraiture: one of his protagonists, Nora, struggles with her inevitable penchant for cannibalizing the less savory characteristics of those she loves in order to create her fiction. As any serious writer knows, the question of what and how much to borrow from those around us results in some serious moral quandaries, which Morton explores here with his typical compassion, delicacy, and humor. Window and Starting Out are both Bibles of sorts for writers who want to read about writers--along the lines of the novels of Andre Dubus. And both books are highly recommended for discriminating readers who aren't writers but are seeking the old-fashioned, ultimately satisfying good read.
In his third novel, A Window Across the River, Morton offers more trenchant writer portraiture: one of his protagonists, Nora, struggles with her inevitable penchant for cannibalizing the less savory characteristics of those she loves in order to create her fiction. As any serious writer knows, the question of what and how much to borrow from those around us results in some serious moral quandaries, which Morton explores here with his typical compassion, delicacy, and humor. Window and Starting Out are both Bibles of sorts for writers who want to read about writers--along the lines of the novels of Andre Dubus. And both books are highly recommended for discriminating readers who aren't writers but are seeking the old-fashioned, ultimately satisfying good read.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Another Brian Morton gem!
23 Sep 2003
Format:Hardcover
How does he do it? Language is used sparingly - there's no flim-flam or fancy stuff - but every word counts as Morton creates fully-developed, real people. There are: Nora, who writes short stories in which she skewers those she cares about; Isaac, the love of her life whom she left but wants back; Aunt Billie, weak - but wonderful; and a supporting cast of characters with quirks and egos that are immediately recognizable. I found myself reading it fast, wanting to find out what would happen to everyone I had met. I was not disappointed, from the first page to the last.
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