Oblivion

by Robin Hemley

Where do writers go when they die? The forgotten ones, at least, go to The Cafe of Minor Authors where they drink endless cups of cappuccino, self-obsess, and nurse their shattered dreams. Some authors, it's rumored, can escape Oblivion if they try hard enough to write something the universe can't ignore, even after death. This is the story of one ambitious writer stuck in oblivion who not only risks upturning his own fate but also the fate of his literary hero, and that of his great grandmother, Hanna, an aspiring actor in the Yiddish theater in the Prague of 1911. This book is for anyone who has ever wanted to be an author, anyone who knows an author, anyone who is an author, recognized or not, and anyone who loves books enough to want to spend their afterlife reading forgotten classics in the great library of Oblivion. "A mesmerizing meditation on immortality, both the literary and fleshly kinds and its ultimate unattainability... like language, like summer, like love, Oblivion is irresistible ." - Junot Diaz , winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction "A tour de force. Oblivion is a marvel of the imagination and intellect. Hemley has . . .created a book that is a relentless page funny and wise, exuberant and sad, insightful and magical, and-most wonderful of all-deeply, deeply human."- Connie May Fowler , author of How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly "Oblivion is a deeply intelligent and strikingly honest exploration of what ultimately drives a writer to write, and the cold loneliness of the journey, and how literary success in one's lifetime is, at best, a fickle proposition. I will tell every writer I know, struggling or successful, to read this book." - Kaylie Jones, author of Lies My Mother Never Told A Memoir.

Genres: Fiction

194 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2022

About the author

Robin Hemley has published seven books of nonfiction and fiction. His latest book, Invented Eden, The Elusive, Disputed History of the Tasaday deals with a purported anthropological hoax in the Philippines. James Hamilton Paterson, writing in the London Review of Books, call Invented Eden, "brave and wholly convincing." John Leonard writes in Harpers, "Besides a terrific story, Invented Eden is a savvy caution." Invented Eden was an American Library Association's Editor's Choice book for 2003.

Robin Hemley co-edited the anthology Extreme Fiction:Fabulists and formalists with Michael Martone, and is the author of the memoir, Nola: A Memoir Of Faith, Art And Madness, which won an Independent Press Book Award for Nonfiction. His popular craft book Turning Life Into Fiction, which was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection as well as a Quality Paperback Book Club Selection has sold over 40,000 copies and will soon be reissued by Graywolf Press. He is also the author of the novel, The Last Studebaker and the story collections, The Big Ear and All You Can Eat.

His awards for his fiction include, The Nelson Algren Award from The Chicago Tribune, The George Garrett Award for Fiction from Willow Springs, the Hugh J. Luke Award from Prairie Schooner, two Pushcart Prizes, and many others. He has published his work in many of the best literary magazines in the country, including Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Willow Springs, Boulevard, Witness, ACM, North American Review, and many others. His fiction has been widely anthologized, translated, and heard on NPR's "Selected Shorts" and others. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and has taught at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western Washington Univeristy, St. Lawrence University, Vermont College, and the University of Utah, and in many Summer writing conferences. He was also the Editor-in-Chief of the Bellingham Review for five years.

Reviews

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of Oblivion is literally one to die for – it is a speculative memoir that imagines what might happen after its author’s death… And the execution is just as extraordinary. Inventive and electrifying, Oblivion is a tragicomic ode to the power of art and ambition to shape a life; an intoxicating cocktail of melancholy, playfulness and mystery (plus a satisfying number of known literary ghosts!). It is the kind of a book where you just don’t skip any lines, because surprises abound. Simply put, Oblivion is one of the best, most memorable books I’ve read in the last decade.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard the author being interviewed on the History of Literature Podcast. The premise seemed interesting, and it was free with Kindle Unlimited. The dead unnamed protagonist and friend are stuck in Oblivion. They follow Kafka around in early 20th century Prague, being present a times when Kafka was inspired to write his masterpieces, such as "The Metamorphosis" and "A Hunger Artist". Their goal is for the protagonist to become inspired to write something in the afterlife that will release him from Oblivion.
Coincidences! As I started to read this novel, my husband was watching a rerun of "Northern Exposure" in which Joel, the main character plays Kafka visiting Cicely and is inspired to write the "The Metamorphosis". I took this as a hopeful sign.
The writing is very enjoyable, but, this is truly a niche read. Many minor characters and details are distractions from the story. The protagonist laments his past, including friends whose stories he coopted and then also meets in Oblivion. I would recommend this for authors, friends or family of authors, or Kafka devotees. As I am neither, it became tedious to read.

Here are a few interesting quotes from Oblivion:

"In a different time, a different country, Kafka might have been the greatest stand-up comedian ever." p. 19
( I agree...I do laugh out loud each time I read the opening line of "The Metamorphosis". I guess many people wonder where that inspiration came from!)

"Success in any form provides little escape when you're being torn to pieces from the inside and simultaneously trying to convey the tremendous worlds you have inside yourself." p. 24

"In the 19th century, nostalgia used to be a medical diagnosis. The Swiss were especially prone to it and people were even said to die from nostalgia." p. 35

"For some of us no matter how many chances at calm, if not peace, we're given, we always somehow choose the maelstrom."
Many other books on my TBR are calling to me. Life is too short for tedious books. DNF at around 56%.

[Priscilla Bourgoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

OBLIVION arrived Saturday. Already finished this absorbing, fun, and imaginative read by Robin Hemley despite an already packed weekend. Highly recommend this humorous, thought-provoking story about the (after) life of writers with a special appearance by Franz Kafka.