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Magic Hours
Award-winning essayist Tom Bissell explores the highs and lows of the creative process. He takes us from the set of The Big Bang Theory to the first novel of Ernest Hemingway to the final work of David Foster Wallace; from the films of Werner Herzog to the film of Tommy Wiseau to the editorial meeting in which Paula Fox's work was relaunched into the world. Originally published in magazines such as The Believer, The New Yorker, and Harper's, these essays represent ten years of Bissell's best writing on every aspect of creation--be it Iraq War documentaries or video-game character voices--and will provoke as much thought as they do laughter.
What are sitcoms for exactly? Can art be both bad and genius? Why do some books survive and others vanish? Bissell's exploration of these questions make for gripping, unforgettable reading.
What are sitcoms for exactly? Can art be both bad and genius? Why do some books survive and others vanish? Bissell's exploration of these questions make for gripping, unforgettable reading.
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2012
47 people are currently reading
1880 people want to read
About the author
Tom Bissell
42 books178 followersTom Bissell (born 1974) is a journalist, critic, and fiction writer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
November 27, 2014
Bissell is a decent essayist with an eclectic outlook. ‘Unflowered Aloes’ is an intelligent discussion of literary immortality and the afterlife of books (I believe no book should fall out of print, unless espousing hateful ideologies), ‘Grief and the Outsider’ explores the dark hinterland of the unpublished writer, standing in their frustrated droves and flinging turds at the published and the publishers, with a look at the Underground Literary Alliance, a strange organisation that still seems to exist (not unlike the more organised Indie Author movements at large now), and ‘Writing About Writing About Writing’ is an hilarious look at the self-help writers’ books whose advice ranges from useless to fucking useless (with occasional servings of useful from professional writers). The other pieces in here are essays written for organs (to quote DFW—Bissell’s touching tribute to the Great Dave is included here), including a long one on Werner Herzog (of whose work I still remain ignorant), a full-scale annihilation of Robert J. Kaplan (of whose work I will continue to remain ignorant), and less interesting if diverting magazine fodder such as an on-set piece on Jeff Daniels, sitcom mogul Chuck Lorre, and two dull offerings on the not-at-all-interesting voiceover actress Jennifer Hale, and the dull-as-an-overworked-simile novelist Jim Harrison. More literary essays from TB, please!
July 13, 2012
Anyone who knows me for more than five years, whether online or off, can tell you that I used to be absolutely obsessed with becoming a professional writer. I even had some modest success; nine of my short stories were published and I spent four years as a copywriter for Rabbi Wein’s Destiny Foundation.
About two years ago, all that changed. I began working full-time at a law office in Manhattan, and though I suppose my commute time could have become writing time, I used it for reading instead. Except for the reviews I write here on GoodReads, I hardly write anything anymore. I just can’t seem to get myself motivated. And I feel really bad about it.
So when I heard Tom Bissell, author of this book and creative writing professor, in an NPR interview, I thought his book was just the thing to give me a kick in the pants. In the interview, he spoke about Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson – three giants in American literature who weren’t all that successful in their lifetimes. Heck, Dickinson was a complete unknown in her lifetime. And though Melville had been a successful writer before the publication of Moby Dick, his masterpiece was panned by the reviewers, and that was basically the end of his career. From then on, he shared his writings only with family and friends. He died believing himself a failure.
“How many unknown or midlist writers are in exactly that predicament today?” asked Tom Bissell. The next generation’s literary genius could well be struggling right now, undiscovered. My husband and I looked at each other, wondering if it could be either of us or perhaps even both. No doubt, any aspirant writer who heard that interview wondered the same.
So naturally, I hurried to get the book on special inter-library loan. At first I was told it was so new, the other library wouldn’t allow it. Then, a third library came through as a complete surprise. So when I got hold of it, I dropped what I’d been reading till then and launched right in. My eagerness had a practical side, too. Renewals aren’t allowed with inter-library loans.
With all that excitement, I guess it was inevitable that I’d be disappointed. It was a good book, but not the life-changer I’d been hoping for. It’s actually a collection of essays about a variety of creative artists - not just writers, but filmmakers, an actress who does voice-over for video games, and a polemical “historian.” The essays on writing were definitely my favorite, especially “Writing about Writing about Writing,” which reviews some of the writing books I’ve read myself, notably Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott and On Writing by Stephen King. Bissell names John Gardner’s On Becoming a Novelist as his personal favorite. It was a life-changer for him, much in the way that Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande was for me. I expect the books are similar. John Gardner wrote the introduction to my copy of Becoming a Writer.
When I was unfamiliar with the artist Bissell was discussing, my interest varied. The voice-over actress was interesting, but I couldn’t wait to get through the polemical historian’s chapter. If there’s one thing Tom Bissell proves with this book, it’s that he can rake someone over the coals when he wants to.
And that brings me to the essay called “Grief and the Outsider,” which is about a group called the “United Literary Alliance.” According to Bissell, they're basically a bunch of bitter aspirants railing against the publishing industry that has repeatedly rejected them. And yet one of those aspirant writers whose work Bissell thinks is such junk came up with what pretty much defines my life as a writer at this point: “To be a good parent to your family won’t make you a better writer. But it’ll make you a better person.”
About two years ago, all that changed. I began working full-time at a law office in Manhattan, and though I suppose my commute time could have become writing time, I used it for reading instead. Except for the reviews I write here on GoodReads, I hardly write anything anymore. I just can’t seem to get myself motivated. And I feel really bad about it.
So when I heard Tom Bissell, author of this book and creative writing professor, in an NPR interview, I thought his book was just the thing to give me a kick in the pants. In the interview, he spoke about Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson – three giants in American literature who weren’t all that successful in their lifetimes. Heck, Dickinson was a complete unknown in her lifetime. And though Melville had been a successful writer before the publication of Moby Dick, his masterpiece was panned by the reviewers, and that was basically the end of his career. From then on, he shared his writings only with family and friends. He died believing himself a failure.
“How many unknown or midlist writers are in exactly that predicament today?” asked Tom Bissell. The next generation’s literary genius could well be struggling right now, undiscovered. My husband and I looked at each other, wondering if it could be either of us or perhaps even both. No doubt, any aspirant writer who heard that interview wondered the same.
So naturally, I hurried to get the book on special inter-library loan. At first I was told it was so new, the other library wouldn’t allow it. Then, a third library came through as a complete surprise. So when I got hold of it, I dropped what I’d been reading till then and launched right in. My eagerness had a practical side, too. Renewals aren’t allowed with inter-library loans.
With all that excitement, I guess it was inevitable that I’d be disappointed. It was a good book, but not the life-changer I’d been hoping for. It’s actually a collection of essays about a variety of creative artists - not just writers, but filmmakers, an actress who does voice-over for video games, and a polemical “historian.” The essays on writing were definitely my favorite, especially “Writing about Writing about Writing,” which reviews some of the writing books I’ve read myself, notably Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott and On Writing by Stephen King. Bissell names John Gardner’s On Becoming a Novelist as his personal favorite. It was a life-changer for him, much in the way that Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande was for me. I expect the books are similar. John Gardner wrote the introduction to my copy of Becoming a Writer.
When I was unfamiliar with the artist Bissell was discussing, my interest varied. The voice-over actress was interesting, but I couldn’t wait to get through the polemical historian’s chapter. If there’s one thing Tom Bissell proves with this book, it’s that he can rake someone over the coals when he wants to.
And that brings me to the essay called “Grief and the Outsider,” which is about a group called the “United Literary Alliance.” According to Bissell, they're basically a bunch of bitter aspirants railing against the publishing industry that has repeatedly rejected them. And yet one of those aspirant writers whose work Bissell thinks is such junk came up with what pretty much defines my life as a writer at this point: “To be a good parent to your family won’t make you a better writer. But it’ll make you a better person.”
October 29, 2014
I've read a few things by Tom Bissell now, and I even attended a reading of his. He was magnanimous enough to invite us all back to his apartment afterward, which I for reasons completely unknown, declined. It's probably the single largest mistake of my life, which means I've been very fortunate, because he is a wonderfully introspective and hilarious writer. However, I think his struggle as a writer is one of the things I connect with and enjoy most. It's one of the things I appreciate about Magic Hours, that sense of wandering, bewildered exploration.
See, Bissell has a wonderful voice (and here's the important part) when he can access it. I'm not sure what the disconnect is: subject matter, motivation, state of mind at the time - it's hard to tell. The point is very much that some of the pieces herein fall, by my subjective and arbitrary standards, very flat. It isn't that they are poorly written; it's simply that they are uninspiring.
In Extra Lives, Bissell was there; he was present. I was following him into the depths of his mind and into his tripping, electronic, cognitive dissonance. When he is there, that is what it is like. When he is not, it is like reading the reviews of every reluctant and flaccid critic. Too often reviewers are vitriolic or soporific - and rarely ever anything else.
Bissell's works on The Room, (I still need to get Bissell's The Disaster Artist on it) are amazing. They are amazing because he managed to pour out exactly what his passion and experience with that film was like and I was able to drink from it and see all the vivid and horrible colors. But I think it was because he cared.
Other pieces simply felt like something he was charged with writing. Whether he was charged by some unknown entity or himself I don't know, but there isn't much of a difference in the end, so I don't care. Many times, cracking the whip on oneself to write is just as laborious and unproductive as having someone else do it. And I'll admit, because of this, I may have not finished two pieces which I found a little too academic, and a little too pallid in tone.
The point is, I think, at least right now before I change my mind at some later date, that how I feel after just finishing it is how I'd like to think I feel about the entire book - which is pretty great. Despite the few times Bissell seemed lost, times I opted not to be lost with him, the rest of the journey was exactly what I was looking for.
His honesty, too, is something I can't help but love. There are too few genuine human beings in this world. It's nice to know he is one of them... and that he too thinks that some of things published in McSweeney's aren't meant to be read (or at least enjoyed).
June 11, 2019
I enjoyed some of these essays more than others, but what all of them had in common was that I really liked Bissell's writing style. That combined with the theme of creativity and creators really inspired me to want to begin writing again. I've been craving writing time for days now. I probably most appreciated "A Simple Medium" and "Invisible Girl," but many others had interesting thoughts to contemplate. It took me a while, but I'm glad I finished it.
May 29, 2012
a new imprint of mcsweeney's, believer books (2 gripes, the font is terrible, and there is no index, come on, we need an index mcsweeneys), has this collection from bissell, collecting about 12 years of essays taken mostly from mainstream mags (harpers, new yorker, new york times book review, believer, outside etc) and many of these are about tv shows and movies, which i skipped for the most part, though the overview of herzog is pretty fantastic. and the thoughts about david foster wallace and his kenyon graduation speech almost made me cry. bho hho.
i like bissell though, he is wide-eyed country type, but brave, and fresh(ish) in his interpretations of art, politics, travel, and literature. i first read his books about aral sea, and "father of all things" (about vietnam vets (his dad mainly) and that war in general) and liked them alot, so these magazine articles were interesting to me to see his more immediate style of reporting. all in all he does a good job of balancing fact and feeling, philosophy and physical description, but falls far short in some goofs (which he admits, so there is that) like not knowing what a crab apple tree is, or what a pheasant looks like. i like this quote he pulls from kapuscinski, the polish world conflict reporter (and public library shout out)
“A nonfiction writer’s style provides the first corresponding clue as to how we are to approach the facts at hand. The style of the plainspoken, rigorously invisible journalist semaphores one kind of approach, that of the poetical, allusive, and interactive journalist another. These are not competitive styles. One is contentedly earthbound while the other mingles in a Milky Way where morality is not a matter of proper dates and chronology but of representational accuracy, context, language. Its mode of communication is not discursive, or even necessarily informative, but visionary. It is called poetic license for a reason: one has to earn it. As Kapuscinski once said, the subtle tyranny of what happened “is exactly what I avoid.” He continued, “If those are the questions you want answered, you can visit your local library.”
i like bissell though, he is wide-eyed country type, but brave, and fresh(ish) in his interpretations of art, politics, travel, and literature. i first read his books about aral sea, and "father of all things" (about vietnam vets (his dad mainly) and that war in general) and liked them alot, so these magazine articles were interesting to me to see his more immediate style of reporting. all in all he does a good job of balancing fact and feeling, philosophy and physical description, but falls far short in some goofs (which he admits, so there is that) like not knowing what a crab apple tree is, or what a pheasant looks like. i like this quote he pulls from kapuscinski, the polish world conflict reporter (and public library shout out)
“A nonfiction writer’s style provides the first corresponding clue as to how we are to approach the facts at hand. The style of the plainspoken, rigorously invisible journalist semaphores one kind of approach, that of the poetical, allusive, and interactive journalist another. These are not competitive styles. One is contentedly earthbound while the other mingles in a Milky Way where morality is not a matter of proper dates and chronology but of representational accuracy, context, language. Its mode of communication is not discursive, or even necessarily informative, but visionary. It is called poetic license for a reason: one has to earn it. As Kapuscinski once said, the subtle tyranny of what happened “is exactly what I avoid.” He continued, “If those are the questions you want answered, you can visit your local library.”
June 20, 2012
Boy, do I love Tom Bissell's writing. There is just no other way to say it. And I'm a sucker for his subject: artistic process and artistic reputation. The opening essay, "Unflowered Aloes," is a sobering account of just how easily the work of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville might have failed to come down to us today (in each case there were quite lucky circumstances). There's an amusing and insightful piece on how-to-write guides, and a remarkable article about a remarkable group calling itself the Underground Literary Alliance. The ULA seems to be made up of members (most of them with noms de guerrewho seem to believe that anyone who manages to publish a book today is by definition a mediocrity with "connections." The piece is really about the concept (sometimes fantasy) of literary insiders and outsiders, and Bissell offers the clearly crankish and fairly talentless-sounding ULA-ers far more respect than you might anticipate. He seems, in fact, to be fascinated by the artistically unsuccessful (another piece is a profile of a filmmaker who is famous only for how bad one of his movies is)-- as are perhaps most of us who write or paint or perform, given that on many days we imagine that we are about to be exposed as just that. Bissell is brave to really think about what it means to fail publicly and repeatedly and--worst of all--without realizing it. After other forays into the fields of TV and film, the collection rounds off with an appealing profile of the writer Jim Harrison. Lots of riches here, lots of superlative, energetic, intelligent writing.
April 20, 2012
A bit of an inconsistent collection, if only because all the pieces were written over 12 years for different magazines and different audiences. The piece about Jeff Daniels's opus "Escanaba in da Moonlight" has a predictable "kick your hometown in the nuts" sort of feel but Bissell can turn a phrase masterfully and keeps it interesting. My favorite chapter is the one called "Writing About Writing About Writing" where he takes various self-help authors to the woodshed in a masterfully bitchy way. There are other outstanding long essays involving people like Jim Harrison and Robert Kaplan, who Bissell fairly convincingly prosecutes for being both a shitty writer and a cold-hearted warmonger. Even the bits of literary criticism are worthy, although after a re-read I still can't figure out whether he thinks "The Sun Also Rises" is a good book or not. He obviously takes writing seriously but isn't humorless about its rewards and depressions as either a career or a hobby or a passion or an art form open to interpretation.
There were a couple misfires for me. Reading about Tommy Wiseau did not interest me enough to bother to learn anything else about Tommy Wiseau. And Chuck Lorre is just another Hollywood workaholic I still could care less about. But on balance this is a fine collection with many strong pages I wish I had written.
There were a couple misfires for me. Reading about Tommy Wiseau did not interest me enough to bother to learn anything else about Tommy Wiseau. And Chuck Lorre is just another Hollywood workaholic I still could care less about. But on balance this is a fine collection with many strong pages I wish I had written.
July 8, 2018
Interesting idea for a book, but the author kind of lost me when I got to the passage where trees "perimetered" a field. Can't they just "line the perimeter"? I am not a fan of noun/verbs. I know English is a constantly evolving language, but that's a trend I just don't care for. It just strikes me as being sort of twee somehow, with an air of "Look, Ma, I'm making up words and being creative!" Also, there was a section of the book in which the author is talking about the ineptitude of a filmmaker, and trying to pass it off as the "new creativity." I just couldn't buy it. It's one thing to understand the language of film and use it in a surprising or unexpected way (as was done in the film "The Sixth Sense"), but not understanding it, and consequently making an inexplicable mess of a movie, is just incompetence.
August 21, 2012
The tagline on this book says "Essays on creators and creation." No, this is not what the book is about at all. It is the author's critique of certain works (books and movies), and sometimes certain people (He really hates Robert Kaplan, and I mean really hates). Bissell can be extraordinarily harsh, cruel, and condescending. Also, his writing was boring. So very BORING. It was difficult to wade through this book, and when its library due date came up and I hadn't finished it, I gladly took it back instead of renewing it.
May 1, 2020
Coronavirus book review #9 – 2 stars
UGH, Tom Bissell is a load. The Jeff Daniels Escanaba in da Moonlight essay had me going for a bit. The big city nostalgia for small towns that aren’t intended for the small town people they glamorize and the angry mean lady at the end who snickers at you snickering at her snickering at you is on point. BUT ….
I’m with King Wenclas. There absolutely needs to be literature beyond the coastal literary centers. Name drop much, Bissell? Have beef with the fact that Bukowski was an alcoholic and worked at the post office like your average American … what, he wasn’t a striver like you? You've even managed to sour me on McSweeney's.
And the absolute worst, during an interview with Werner Herzog, Bissell points out a minor continuity error in one of Herzog’s movies. You are the poster child for mean-spirted. Then you have the nerve to pretend you’re surprised that annoyed him? And while I’m at it, you said he was wearing biscuit-colored pants. Seriously.
There’s a part of me that hopes you cringe when you read these essays by your younger self. They reek with immaturity. And those hundred-dollar words you throw around like candy? Nobody is impressed.
This is exactly why Middle America hates New Yorkers and Californians. For the record, I lived in LA for 25 years. Maybe I was once like you.
UGH, Tom Bissell is a load. The Jeff Daniels Escanaba in da Moonlight essay had me going for a bit. The big city nostalgia for small towns that aren’t intended for the small town people they glamorize and the angry mean lady at the end who snickers at you snickering at her snickering at you is on point. BUT ….
I’m with King Wenclas. There absolutely needs to be literature beyond the coastal literary centers. Name drop much, Bissell? Have beef with the fact that Bukowski was an alcoholic and worked at the post office like your average American … what, he wasn’t a striver like you? You've even managed to sour me on McSweeney's.
And the absolute worst, during an interview with Werner Herzog, Bissell points out a minor continuity error in one of Herzog’s movies. You are the poster child for mean-spirted. Then you have the nerve to pretend you’re surprised that annoyed him? And while I’m at it, you said he was wearing biscuit-colored pants. Seriously.
There’s a part of me that hopes you cringe when you read these essays by your younger self. They reek with immaturity. And those hundred-dollar words you throw around like candy? Nobody is impressed.
This is exactly why Middle America hates New Yorkers and Californians. For the record, I lived in LA for 25 years. Maybe I was once like you.
Read
January 17, 2018.
April 15, 2018
The last couple essays left me wanting more. You can see him progress into a mature writer as the book progresses; I am hooked and would be interested in reading a full fiction book by him now.
December 2, 2024
Reading Tom Bissell’s Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation was a similar experience to watching the Darjeeling Limited for the first time on a Jet Blue flight to Boston from Tampa without any turbulence.
If David Foster Wallace’s magnificent writing were an opioid, this book functioned as literary methadone to help wean me from the withdrawal symptoms of not having any big scores left to consume after completing The Pale King.
This collection included discourse on the struggles of one’s writing being discovered and deemed famous and culturally relevant, Jeff Daniels creating a film in Escanaba, Michigan, Werner Herzog’s unique filmmaking career (including rescuing Joaquin Phoenix from a car crash), Tommy Wiseau as a savant, Chuck Lorre’s rounds in the American sitcom circuit, as well as (albeit brief) discussions on Wallace. Bissell’s personal essays range from age twenty-five to thirty-seven.
The main reason I was so drawn to Bissell’s words is that he doesn’t hold back on his opinions, especially John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces: “The suicide John Kennedy Toole is probably the most famous True Outsider, though it pains me to admit that I regard A Confederacy of Dunces as one of the most overrated novels ever published. I am glad, all the same, that it was published, if only for the moments of reflection it caused those who rejected it to suffer.” (69)
I couldn’t agree more.
The ULA (Underground Literary Alliance) reads like a PG version of Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents, led by the likes of writers such as Jack Saunders. In personal exchange with Saunders via USPS, Bissell concludes, “I enjoyed what I read, but since I regarded- and regard- Saunder’s work roughly as salable as a Hefty bag filled with hypos, I was too depressed to even write him back. I also suspected that, if I did, I was going to get an extremely loquacious pen pal (and perhaps even increasingly nude photos).” (90)
“Those who maintain that writing cannot be taught are in effect promoting the Priesthood Theory of Writing. In short, a few are called, most are not, and nothing anyone does can alter that process.” (100)
Tommy Wiseau is living The American Dream. “Americanness is also the central, and centrally unexamined theme of The Room. Wiseau cast himself within the film as a hunk of Johnny Americana, with not corresponding recognition of how absurdly ill fitting this role actually is.” (222) I think Wiseau could be Lyle, “the fitness guru” incarnate, but replaces pubescent boy sweat with Red Bull.
Pausing to enjoy nature and keeping dogs alive could be part of the secret formula to enjoying life. :)
If David Foster Wallace’s magnificent writing were an opioid, this book functioned as literary methadone to help wean me from the withdrawal symptoms of not having any big scores left to consume after completing The Pale King.
This collection included discourse on the struggles of one’s writing being discovered and deemed famous and culturally relevant, Jeff Daniels creating a film in Escanaba, Michigan, Werner Herzog’s unique filmmaking career (including rescuing Joaquin Phoenix from a car crash), Tommy Wiseau as a savant, Chuck Lorre’s rounds in the American sitcom circuit, as well as (albeit brief) discussions on Wallace. Bissell’s personal essays range from age twenty-five to thirty-seven.
The main reason I was so drawn to Bissell’s words is that he doesn’t hold back on his opinions, especially John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces: “The suicide John Kennedy Toole is probably the most famous True Outsider, though it pains me to admit that I regard A Confederacy of Dunces as one of the most overrated novels ever published. I am glad, all the same, that it was published, if only for the moments of reflection it caused those who rejected it to suffer.” (69)
I couldn’t agree more.
The ULA (Underground Literary Alliance) reads like a PG version of Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents, led by the likes of writers such as Jack Saunders. In personal exchange with Saunders via USPS, Bissell concludes, “I enjoyed what I read, but since I regarded- and regard- Saunder’s work roughly as salable as a Hefty bag filled with hypos, I was too depressed to even write him back. I also suspected that, if I did, I was going to get an extremely loquacious pen pal (and perhaps even increasingly nude photos).” (90)
“Those who maintain that writing cannot be taught are in effect promoting the Priesthood Theory of Writing. In short, a few are called, most are not, and nothing anyone does can alter that process.” (100)
Tommy Wiseau is living The American Dream. “Americanness is also the central, and centrally unexamined theme of The Room. Wiseau cast himself within the film as a hunk of Johnny Americana, with not corresponding recognition of how absurdly ill fitting this role actually is.” (222) I think Wiseau could be Lyle, “the fitness guru” incarnate, but replaces pubescent boy sweat with Red Bull.
Pausing to enjoy nature and keeping dogs alive could be part of the secret formula to enjoying life. :)
December 11, 2012
This is upsetting: I wrote a review here, about an hour ago. It's gone. I wrote the whole thing, clicked save down there at the bottom and ...
What have I learned from this? In future I will write reviews in a word processor or text editor and save them; then, I will cut and paste them here. This is a very frustrating experience: first, because I don't like writing reviews about collections--whether of essays or short stories or poems. My mind tries to go too many ways, even when, as in this collection, there is clear connection between the individual works.
Bissell connects his essays with the theme of the creator and the act of creating, whether that is in film, TV, fiction or video games. I'll confess that I did not read that essay: i.e. "The Invisible Girl," because I have no interest in video games or in how they are made.
The essays I most enjoyed are: "The Theory and Practice of Not Giving a Shit," in which Bissell visits the author, Jim Harrison (Legends of the Fall) and "Writing about Writing about Writing."
Harrison has the persona of the gifted artist; that special person who has been touched by the Nine Muses, maybe he has. There is a definite agon, here, with Hemingway, et al; it could be fun to look at Harrison in light of Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence.
Well, sadly, that's about all I can recall from my earlier attempt.
I do look forward to reading more of Tom Bissell's work, which I'll approach with curiosity and pleasure.
What have I learned from this? In future I will write reviews in a word processor or text editor and save them; then, I will cut and paste them here. This is a very frustrating experience: first, because I don't like writing reviews about collections--whether of essays or short stories or poems. My mind tries to go too many ways, even when, as in this collection, there is clear connection between the individual works.
Bissell connects his essays with the theme of the creator and the act of creating, whether that is in film, TV, fiction or video games. I'll confess that I did not read that essay: i.e. "The Invisible Girl," because I have no interest in video games or in how they are made.
The essays I most enjoyed are: "The Theory and Practice of Not Giving a Shit," in which Bissell visits the author, Jim Harrison (Legends of the Fall) and "Writing about Writing about Writing."
Harrison has the persona of the gifted artist; that special person who has been touched by the Nine Muses, maybe he has. There is a definite agon, here, with Hemingway, et al; it could be fun to look at Harrison in light of Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence.
Well, sadly, that's about all I can recall from my earlier attempt.
I do look forward to reading more of Tom Bissell's work, which I'll approach with curiosity and pleasure.
November 26, 2012
This book is a collection of a dozen-plus essays by Tom Bissell that were previously published in various magazines. All of them are about "people engaged in some aspect of creation." Several are about writers, several are on filmmakers, one focuses on video game voice actor Jennifer Hale, and one covers the career of sitcom creator Chuck Lorre. (These last two mentioned were among my favorites.)
Bissell is a good writer, and I enjoyed the sarcastic sense of humor that he inserts into most of the pieces. How much I liked each essay depended on whether I cared to read several thousand words on the subject. There were some sections that in retrospect I could have skipped, but the majority of the book interested me.
The book is unfortunately riddled with typographical errors such as missing punctuation and omitted or incorrect words. The problem was extensive enough to impact my reading experience and leave me wondering if an unproofed version was accidentally sent into production (or to Kindle publication, since that's what I read).
Bissell is a good writer, and I enjoyed the sarcastic sense of humor that he inserts into most of the pieces. How much I liked each essay depended on whether I cared to read several thousand words on the subject. There were some sections that in retrospect I could have skipped, but the majority of the book interested me.
The book is unfortunately riddled with typographical errors such as missing punctuation and omitted or incorrect words. The problem was extensive enough to impact my reading experience and leave me wondering if an unproofed version was accidentally sent into production (or to Kindle publication, since that's what I read).
September 30, 2012
Grouping essays around the theme of creativity, the making of art by artists provides a wide range for Bissel to get on his high horse and explore. Sequenced by publication date, the writing in the earlier essays clearly show a young writer trying his damnedest to impress, overwhelm with language, and make bold statements. After we take a trip to his home town to hang out on a movie set it feels like we get a more relaxed story-teller.
At any rate, I'm not sure I gained any insight into the "creative process" but I did enjoy most of these, especially the essay on how some of the most popular writers--Melville, Whitman, Dickinson--weren't instantly famous and how thin the coincidences and serendipity that separates obscurity from acclaim. The one on writing books was nice as well.
At any rate, I'm not sure I gained any insight into the "creative process" but I did enjoy most of these, especially the essay on how some of the most popular writers--Melville, Whitman, Dickinson--weren't instantly famous and how thin the coincidences and serendipity that separates obscurity from acclaim. The one on writing books was nice as well.
June 12, 2012
Via Brandon.
Really more of a 3.5 stars--I liked some essays better than others, especially the one on The Room.
Really more of a 3.5 stars--I liked some essays better than others, especially the one on The Room.
July 8, 2018
Fourteen essays published between 2000 and 2012 comprise this anthology. Bissell uses his professional training and experience as a journalist and editor for major publishers to profile authors, directors, a sitcom producer, and a voice-over actor. Bissell’s wordy, often antagonistic writing style will appeal to or appall readers, depending on personal taste, such as his dismissal of Writer’s Digest Books as, “...possibly the most sinister malefactor of Panglossian expectations in the literary world today” (110). He generalizes about one type of how-to-write books as voicing: “the philosophy of writing—again how to live—enjoying frequent, rather sharp expeditions into the joys and terrors of literature. Reading such books is not always easy; the mountain analogy is apt. One’s pack is too heavy, the snow is thick, the guide is unforgiving, self-involved, but far too knowledgeable to ignore. One constantly feels as though one has to prove oneself worthy of his or her company” (117). One more example shows how Bissell presents the creative magic he describes: “The morality of narrative art, whether fictional or fact-based, hinges upon knowing when the additives one injects into representation begin to poison rather than fortify the narrative—knowing in other words, what to include and what to leave out. Every artist will judge differently, but these are judgments that must be made—even by those who fanatically insist that any fabrications, however small, inserted into what is intended to be ‘real’ result in fiction—and they implicate even such elementary decisions as choosing where to begin telling a story” (192).
January 22, 2026
While this book was not what I was looking for it is was I love. Less a coherent book, this collection of essays from the 2000's -- some on writing, some on creativity generally and great creators -- captures more about TCB, his worldview, than anything else. His style, which I find personal and instantly relatable, feels like the words of a brother, tho one, perhaps, who is much older, having returned from distant lands with stories of strange but familiar people. When a family member says "I knew him as a boy, we used to go fishing off his dock" when someone famous is brought up over dinner. This book was filled with wise and inviting tales, perhaps without any directions on writing, but simply who many of these creatives are, or conversely, a little of who TCB is.
This book also reminds me of who I want to be -- not a great creative, or a humble star, but someone who will ask thoughtful questions, share stories, and maybe shine a light on the beauty of it all
This book also reminds me of who I want to be -- not a great creative, or a humble star, but someone who will ask thoughtful questions, share stories, and maybe shine a light on the beauty of it all
January 27, 2018
Magic Hours is a wide-ranging collection of essays from a wide-ranging collection of publications. Based on the original summary I expected this book to include essays about pop culture in general, perhaps with a focus on writing and literature. What's actually included here is heavily centered around literary reviews and the publishing world with a few later essays including glimpses into additional subjects like sitcom shows. While not what I was hoping for, I did enjoy most of the included works and thought that if the reader was interested in writing, this would be particularly enjoyable.
Ultimately what Bissell writes about can be broken down into two groups: literary commentary and general observation. I much preferred Bissell just writing about a topic from what he observed, such as in the titular piece Magic Hours. Mostly I think this results from our lack of shared literary background. A few of the articles, I'm mortified to say, went right over my head.
While I never normally read non-fiction, I'm glad I picked this up. It was well-written and Bissell comes at his subjects from interesting perspectives. An interesting read for anyone and a must read for all working authors.
I’m providing this review in return for an ARC through NetGalley.
Ultimately what Bissell writes about can be broken down into two groups: literary commentary and general observation. I much preferred Bissell just writing about a topic from what he observed, such as in the titular piece Magic Hours. Mostly I think this results from our lack of shared literary background. A few of the articles, I'm mortified to say, went right over my head.
While I never normally read non-fiction, I'm glad I picked this up. It was well-written and Bissell comes at his subjects from interesting perspectives. An interesting read for anyone and a must read for all working authors.
I’m providing this review in return for an ARC through NetGalley.
January 20, 2020
Don't let the cover-or the title-fool you; this collection of essays is decidedly unwhimsical. Realizing that when he wrote about others they were always creators, Bissell came to the conclusion that "To create anything [sic] is to believe, if only momentarily, you are capable of magic." A hopeful beginning to a realistic book, but I appreciated his candor. Honestly I picked up this book because the author has an essay titled "Writing About Writing About Writing," and I thought if he's ballsy enough to put that out there then I want to know what he has to say. I found it refreshingly, aggressively critical on how-to-write books and what he calls "writerly self-delusion," encouraging us to remember that writing isn't a mystical woo-woo process.
January 10, 2022
I picked this book up for a course but ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. This collection has essays on varied topics ranging from writing, cinema, war, sitcoms and travel, loosely connected by the thread of creation and creativity. Some of the essays are beautiful and thought provoking and others, interesting reads.
I especially loved "Escanaba's magic hour" - a peak into small town excitement and reactions to a movie being shot in the town. It is funny, insightful and penetrative all at the same time. Another essay like "Grief and outsiders" deals with art and the angst of an underground literary movement attacking mainstream publishing.
I generally do not read book of essays but after this, I will definitely be picking up more of them in the future.
I especially loved "Escanaba's magic hour" - a peak into small town excitement and reactions to a movie being shot in the town. It is funny, insightful and penetrative all at the same time. Another essay like "Grief and outsiders" deals with art and the angst of an underground literary movement attacking mainstream publishing.
I generally do not read book of essays but after this, I will definitely be picking up more of them in the future.
January 27, 2024
Bissell is your most interesting and intelligent friend. Here he talks about Werner Herzog's documentaries, the video game voice acting of Jennifer Hale, Chuck Lorre's resurrection of the traditional sitcom, the phenomenon that is Tommy Wisseau's The Room. He also talks about writers, and writing: John Gardner, Jim Harrison, Martin Amis, David Foster Wallace; the importance of moral fiction, the frequent poverty and occasional richness of books claiming to teach principles of writing. What he has to say about all of these things is, without fail, interesting. Very often, though, it is also edifying--morally, artistically. Whether you're a creator or a consumer within the mediums Bissell talks about, you'll be better having read this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2017
I’m very glad I read this book. It is a collection of essays about writers and writing, about people who make movies and television shows, and about war and life and death. The further I read into the book the more I liked it. The closing essay on his visit with Jim Harrison was particularly good. I also liked his chapter reflecting on a few different books on writing. There was a lot that fed me in this book. I imagine others will find the same.
March 16, 2018
A friend recommended this years ago based on an essay about writing it contains. I wish I'd gotten around to the collection sooner. All of it is fabulous. Bissell is an evocative and humorous writer who injects the perfect amount of personal into his observational and smart essays. The topics range fairly widely, but his voice provides a welcome constancy.
September 11, 2018
Not all the essays were equally interesting or compelling to me. The best ones, in my opinion, were the earliest ones in the book where the author talks about his time in the publishing industry and why certain books, which are great books, never really break out and are ultimately forgotten, and how some of the books and authors we consider classics today almost fell into obscurity themselves.
March 15, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the essays in this collection (especially, as a FemShep player, Invisible Girl), although at one point I suddenly could not stomach the studiously even-handed, exploratory tone and needed to set the book down for a few days.
August 18, 2019
I enjoyed the first & maybe the 2nd essay, but gave up about 1/2 way through. These aren't essays about creativity. These are essays by a writer, mostly about other writers. Generally some ranting about other writers who rant, and criticism about journalists. I've got better things to read.
June 14, 2020
Sharp writing. Interesting thoughts. He's a bit full of himself at moments which is interesting because sometimes he's calling out others for being full of themselves.
August 16, 2022
Essays on writers and filmmakers for the most part. Well-written and perceptive; I particularly liked the essay on Werner Herzog.
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