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The Writing Class
This unique novel is both a compelling love story and an insightful writing manual. 'Writers take what we learn of human nature and, fuelled by our longings for other existences and other times, forge new identities that can be as real as she is, sitting with her dog on the weathered step of the old house, stories that move us to tears or laughter.' Merle Carbury, an author in her own right, also teaches Creative Writing. Amid the tension of the final semester of the year, her many and varied students prepare to submit their manuscripts. As Merle mentors their assorted ambitions, observes the romantic entanglements of her colleague, worries about her husband and is intrigued by their mysterious German lodger, she both imparts and embodies how to write a novel. Written by a prize-winning author, who is also an experienced teacher, the overarching intelligence, compassion and wicked humour in this inventive book make it a joy to read.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
8 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Johnson
23 books26 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. 5^
Stephanie Johnson is the author of several collections of poetry and of short stories, some plays and adaptations, and many fine novels. The New Zealand Listener commented that ‘Stephanie Johnson is a writer of talent and distinction. Over the course of an award-winning career — during which she has written plays, poetry, short stories and novels — she has become a significant presence in the New Zealand literary landscape, a presence cemented and enhanced by her roles as critic and creative writing teacher.' the Shag Incident won the Montana Deutz Medal for Fiction in 2003, and Belief was shortlisted for the same award. Stephanie has also won the Bruce Mason Playwrights Award and Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, and was the 2001 Literary Fellow at the University of Auckland. Many of her novels have been published in Australia, America and the United Kingdom. She co-founded the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival with Peter Wells in 1999.
Stephanie Johnson is the author of several collections of poetry and of short stories, some plays and adaptations, and many fine novels. The New Zealand Listener commented that ‘Stephanie Johnson is a writer of talent and distinction. Over the course of an award-winning career — during which she has written plays, poetry, short stories and novels — she has become a significant presence in the New Zealand literary landscape, a presence cemented and enhanced by her roles as critic and creative writing teacher.' the Shag Incident won the Montana Deutz Medal for Fiction in 2003, and Belief was shortlisted for the same award. Stephanie has also won the Bruce Mason Playwrights Award and Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, and was the 2001 Literary Fellow at the University of Auckland. Many of her novels have been published in Australia, America and the United Kingdom. She co-founded the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival with Peter Wells in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 17, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - and was reminded of just how exquisitely some of our wonderfully talented, New Zealand authors construct their work. Story-telling like this isn't the norm any longer! Both a fictional novel about a group of students in a writing class, and the lives of the tutor and her family, it is also an 'instructional' book about how to structure a novel. A celebration of the written word, and of story telling - both on paper and in film.
Unique, warm, thoughtful and intelligent, with some intriguing, and very likeable (and the odd not so likeable) characters, that kept me utterly engaged till the very last page. I would have happily continued reading about many of these characters, had the author felt compelled to write another chapter or two. But then again, I love how Stephanie Johnson doesn't over-tell a story, respecting her reader's own imagination and their own inner creative voice that will enable them to put the book down, and ponder the futures of the characters for themselves. In a word : delightful.
Unique, warm, thoughtful and intelligent, with some intriguing, and very likeable (and the odd not so likeable) characters, that kept me utterly engaged till the very last page. I would have happily continued reading about many of these characters, had the author felt compelled to write another chapter or two. But then again, I love how Stephanie Johnson doesn't over-tell a story, respecting her reader's own imagination and their own inner creative voice that will enable them to put the book down, and ponder the futures of the characters for themselves. In a word : delightful.
August 1, 2016
Well written, clever prose, but ultimately this book left me dissatisfied and slightly depressed. By the end I was sprint-reading because I couldn't wait to finish it and move on to something with characters I cared about.
The only person the reader could possibly sympathise with (apart from the twins unfortunate enough to be born to Jacinta) is the protagonist, Merle, who really needs to take herself off to see the world. She admits she's never been out of her own country (a fact I found hard to swallow, as Merle is well-read and interested in the world) and this is how the novel felt to me - parochial. Merle is an observer of people, a great teacher, and there's an appealing kindliness to her observations, but she's detached, and this detachment is too obvious in the novel, and I think why the characters don't elicit sympathy - not even poor cuckolded Hermann. The writing classes are the most interesting part, but probably only to readers who are themselves learning the craft of writing.
The only person the reader could possibly sympathise with (apart from the twins unfortunate enough to be born to Jacinta) is the protagonist, Merle, who really needs to take herself off to see the world. She admits she's never been out of her own country (a fact I found hard to swallow, as Merle is well-read and interested in the world) and this is how the novel felt to me - parochial. Merle is an observer of people, a great teacher, and there's an appealing kindliness to her observations, but she's detached, and this detachment is too obvious in the novel, and I think why the characters don't elicit sympathy - not even poor cuckolded Hermann. The writing classes are the most interesting part, but probably only to readers who are themselves learning the craft of writing.
June 22, 2013
The tale of a writer who has more or less given up writing novels to earn a living teaching writing, and the people in her life: her post-breakdown former film director husband who spends his days mooching around in a dressing gown; their mysterious elderly German boarder; her class of writing students and her colleague who falls for one of them.
Well-written and well-structured, enjoyable and easy to read (I read it in a day on the train between Wellington and Hamilton), but not earth-shattering. The characters were mostly believable but failed to fully engage me, so I didn't particularly care about any of them.
Still, worth a read, especially if you are a writer.
Well-written and well-structured, enjoyable and easy to read (I read it in a day on the train between Wellington and Hamilton), but not earth-shattering. The characters were mostly believable but failed to fully engage me, so I didn't particularly care about any of them.
Still, worth a read, especially if you are a writer.
January 29, 2015
Three and a half stars.
I'm thinking, I'm thinking!
Just trying to put my finger on why I wasn't wholly engaged by this work.
It was too much like being in a creative writing class for me- & Johnson even used her own work as an example in some of Merle's teaching. That struck me as a bit pretentious - must be the modest Kiwi in me!
& I thought there was too many POV & too many characters that remained one dimensional, including some of the POV ones.
& this may be the publisher, but lots of blank pages, lots of fancy chapter heading pages. This was already a small book (241 pages) but the amount of wasted paper made it even smaller. Maybe 220 of actual writing? Feels like a cheat.
Very good ending though, which I'm still thinking about.
I'm thinking, I'm thinking!
Just trying to put my finger on why I wasn't wholly engaged by this work.
It was too much like being in a creative writing class for me- & Johnson even used her own work as an example in some of Merle's teaching. That struck me as a bit pretentious - must be the modest Kiwi in me!
& I thought there was too many POV & too many characters that remained one dimensional, including some of the POV ones.
& this may be the publisher, but lots of blank pages, lots of fancy chapter heading pages. This was already a small book (241 pages) but the amount of wasted paper made it even smaller. Maybe 220 of actual writing? Feels like a cheat.
Very good ending though, which I'm still thinking about.
December 4, 2013
(Harriet) Stephanie Johnson was one of the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival founders, a festival that celebrates writing and writers. This is exactly what this new novel does, too. It references and quotes a number of authors, as well as being about the craft and featuring characters who are fictional writers: of both the published and hopeful variety. On the one hand, this is a fully satisfying novel, following Merle Carbury and the frustrations and delights of her life. On the other, the book can be read as an instruction manual, as a writing class on how to write a novel. I just wish all education was so enjoyable. This is a thoroughly clever and funny work. There is generosity, too, for while Stephanie is passing on her hard-won knowledge, she is busy pointing us to the works of others. This book is yet another triumph.
October 19, 2022
I liked it. Good characters and a flowing story, but along with some stereotypes like a Rasta man and a militant lesbian. It does read a bit like something by a middle aged creative writing teacher who couldn’t resist putting her tips about writing into the book. Still, I found it absorbing and hard to resist.
May 21, 2021
Put it on the shelf with your favourite selfreflexive books. My copy is between King's On Writing and Key's Story.
This Who's-Who is Chock-a-block with references to my favourite books and writers, kiwi and international. I loved it.
This Who's-Who is Chock-a-block with references to my favourite books and writers, kiwi and international. I loved it.
June 4, 2019
Competent but a bit pedestrian.
July 20, 2020
Too self-conscious and didactic for me. I could not care about the people at all. Gave it away half-way through.
October 1, 2013
Merle, a middle-aged novelist makes do with a career as a creative writing teacher. Her depressed husband sits around smoking ciggies in his dressing-gown pondering the decline of the television industry in which he was once revered. Merle's students at varying times show promise, neglect, aggression, fear and in Tosh's case, a leaning towards faux-Rustafarianism.
I enjoyed the way Johnson structured the book - each chapter from the perspective of a different character, and also the tips for writers (although basic). I enjoyed the quotes Johnson selected from some great books including 'Passage to India' and work from Janet Frame.
What I didn't enjoy were the characters. I found them to be two-dimensional and a little cliched. I wanted to go deeper with the characters, particularly Merle's colleague Gareth and Merle herself. Jacinta was annoying - perhaps she was supposed to be - and nothing she did surprised me. Nothing anyone did really surprised me actually.
Having said that I'm off to read 'Music From a Distant Room'. I won't give up on a fellow countryman and writer that easily.
I enjoyed the way Johnson structured the book - each chapter from the perspective of a different character, and also the tips for writers (although basic). I enjoyed the quotes Johnson selected from some great books including 'Passage to India' and work from Janet Frame.
What I didn't enjoy were the characters. I found them to be two-dimensional and a little cliched. I wanted to go deeper with the characters, particularly Merle's colleague Gareth and Merle herself. Jacinta was annoying - perhaps she was supposed to be - and nothing she did surprised me. Nothing anyone did really surprised me actually.
Having said that I'm off to read 'Music From a Distant Room'. I won't give up on a fellow countryman and writer that easily.
February 7, 2016
This is the first book I have read by Stephanie Johnson, and I'm sure it will not be the last. I enjoyed her style, and the development of her characters who were rich with faults and foibles. The story was simple to allow the characters to develop and reveal themselves.
Although this was all about a writing class, the characters were very varied, reflecting a host of different backgrounds and nationalities.
Our central character was Merle, who teaches the writing course and who has in the past written several novels which seem to have done little to bring her wither fame or success. In her class are a rabble of differing personalities, and somewhere in the background lurks Gareth, her fellow tutor who subtly steals one of her students to be his lover.
Obviously there are tensions and conflicts and I live the way Johnson deals with them in very real ways. I like the conflict Merle has with the need to nurture her students and not crush their fragile egos or attempts to write. Too often she wants to tell them something is terrible, but cannot do so.
Although this was all about a writing class, the characters were very varied, reflecting a host of different backgrounds and nationalities.
Our central character was Merle, who teaches the writing course and who has in the past written several novels which seem to have done little to bring her wither fame or success. In her class are a rabble of differing personalities, and somewhere in the background lurks Gareth, her fellow tutor who subtly steals one of her students to be his lover.
Obviously there are tensions and conflicts and I live the way Johnson deals with them in very real ways. I like the conflict Merle has with the need to nurture her students and not crush their fragile egos or attempts to write. Too often she wants to tell them something is terrible, but cannot do so.
July 12, 2016
The prose is skillful and polished. There are some wry and insightful observations about people in general and about writers, writing, and writing classes in particular, but it's a thin line and unfortunately a few come across as insulting. The characters are a mixed bag too with some warm and compelling and others unpleasant and un-endearing. There is an underlying sadness and cynicism to the whole thing and yet a little hope too which I guess pretty much sums up a writer's life.
July 1, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters and their stories were not what I'd usually read, but were so interestingly written. I enjoyed the structure and the writing tips scattered throughout. Merle was a great connector between a few subplot stories, in particular Jacinta's was fascinating. Merle's relationship with Brendan was beautiful in its realness. A lovely read!
July 26, 2013
Clever and entertaining. A novel about a writing class that tells several intertwining stories while riffing on the art of writing and those who aspire to write. By the end of the novel I'd even got quite fond of some of the more irritating characters.
June 6, 2013
Being a writer, I loved stephanies book - the writing class. It's a cleverly written humorous story both fictional and a writing manual.
June 8, 2013
Was great, I loved the way she matched various writing conceits with what was actually happening in the book at the time. Funny, awful and clever.
Read
March 2, 2014An interesting story, probably more enjoyable if you were a budding writer
Did not really grab me
Did not really grab me
July 9, 2015
Very well written, and also enjoyed the glimpse into the world of a writing group.
October 8, 2015
Kept me reading
January 5, 2014
This is such a good novel that it deserves a proper review. I will be back when I have the time.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews