The Destiny Thief

By Richard Russo

A master of the novel, short story and memoir, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Everybody's Foolnow gives us his very first collection of personal essays, thoughts on writing, reading and living.

In these nine essays, Richard Russo provides insight into his life as a writer, teacher, friend and reader. From a commencement speech to the story of how an oddly placed toilet made him reevaluate the purpose of humour in art and life, to a comprehensive analysis of Mark Twain's value, to his harrowing journey accompanying a dear friend as she pursued gender-reassignment surgery, The Destiny Thief reflects the broad interests and experiences of one of America's most beloved authors.

Warm, funny, wise and poignant, the essays included here traverse Russo's writing life, expanding our understanding of who he is and how his singular, incredibly generous mind works. An utter joy to read, they give deep insight into the creative process from the perspective of one of our greatest writers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Release date: Jan 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781760639716

Richard Russo

Richard Russo is the author of nine novels, two collections of short stories, a memoir, and several produced screenplays. Empire Falls won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and his adaptation of the book for HBO was nominated for an Emmy. His collection of essays, The Destiny Thief, will be published in 2018. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Portland, Maine.

Reviews for The Destiny Thief

[jscape2000 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Perfectly fine collection of essays. I would neither recommend them nor discourage you from reading them.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Richard Russo, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Nobody's Fool and That Old Cape Magic, reflects on the writing life in this collection of previously published essays.From his discussion of how he managed to become a successful author when other more talented MFA students did not, to a look at humor and what we call funny (or not), to his musings on what authors may be missing by overlooking the omniscient narrative voice, Russo's essays are enlightening and entertaining reading. If you like Russo's writing - or even if you don't, since the only book I'd read before by him I'd completely panned - I recommend trying out this book. I may even go back and try more of his fiction.

[jonimfisher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Essays on writing from a modern master of storytelling.