This weekend at Triangle Reads I interviewed author Elin Hilderbrand about her latest novel The Rumor.
Hilderbrand is known for her fun, well-written summer novels, but The Rumor was fun for me on a different level. One of the main characters in her book is Madeline King, a novelist who is on deadline to submit her next novel but is completely, totally blocked. She has nothing to write about, but then her best friend starts up a steamy affair with her gardener … and her next novel begins to write itself.
Authors are instructed to write what you know. Hilderbrand knows publishing inside and out, and The Rumor is packed with authentic nuggets from that world: the heated conversations with her agent, the favor-trading between parties, the manuscript that gets passed around before the author is ready. She references the notoriously cranky Kirkus reviews and authors who plagiarize their teenage children. If you’re a serious reader, you’ll eat it up.
Hilderbrand’s book got me thinking about other novels that are enjoyably self-aware about the writing process, whether their end product is fiction, history, or memoir. This is my list; I’d love to hear yours in comments.
Atonement
I can't do better than The New York Times, which wrote, "Ian McEwan's remarkable novel Atonement is a love story, a war story and a story about the destructive powers of the imagination." The story hinges on a horrible, life-altering lie told by a 13-year-old girl and its devastating ripple effects. I can't say too much about how the writing process plays into this story without spoiling it. But in a novel that's all about the dangerous power of the imagination, the characters' revealed imaginings for their own futures are breathtaking.
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Writers & Lovers
The Thirteenth Tale
The Lake House
The Help
Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan graduates from Old Miss in the 1960s and returns home to Jackson, looking for a topic to write about. She decides to tell the story of the Help. Skeeter was raised by a kindly black maid, as were many of her friends. Now they’re having babies and hiring black maids of their own. Skeeter interviews the maids of Jackson to find out what it’s really like to be a black woman who leaves her own babies at home so she can earn a living raising white women’s babies.
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The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese
The Rumor
Angle of Repose
The Word Exchange
If you’ve read these, what did you think of the books? What would YOU add to this list?
64 comments
I’m so glad to hear your positive review of The Lake House. I love Morton’s writing, and am counting down the days til it comes out! The Thirteenth Tale is also a favorite, although I didn’t like Bellman and Black, the author’s next book–couldn’t even finish it. (Am I the only one?) Atonement is beyond lovely as well (and I even liked the movie).
I didn’t like Bellman and Black, either! I skipped to the end to see what happens, and I was glad I didn’t waste any more of my time. But The Thirteenth Tale is one of my favorites!
I got THE THIRTEENTH TALE for my birthday years ago and have read it twice. I want to love it, but I’m too squeamish!
Me too! There were some parts that made my HSP self get queasy…and that was listening to an audio book so I couldn’t look away!
I haven’t read Bellman and Black, but you’re not exactly making me want to bump it to the top of the list. 🙂
I liked Bellman and Black but it’s very different from The Thirteenth Tale.
Looks on goodreads like people who loved thirteenth tale didn’t love Bellman and Black. Since I didn’t quite love thirteenth tale, I may have to try it.
What a great post! I will tuck this list away in my mind. I liked Fangirl and Landline for their writerly characters.
Those are good ones to include here.
I love The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge.
There are hints of the writing world in Gone Girl- isn’t that what contributes to Amy’s insanity? That she can’t live up to the literary character her parents created even though it’s based on her.
Good point. I didn’t think of that one.
You did a fantastic job interviewing Elin on Sunday! What a fun idea to think of other novels that are self-aware about the writing process. WHAT HAPPENED TO SOPHIE WILDER might qualify, but I don’t remember how much the main character’s occupation as a novelist plays into the story. Also perhaps THE BIOGRAPHER’S TALE and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP?
WHAT HAPPENED TO SOPHIE WILDER was the book that prompted me to write a novel (after toying with writing for years while growing up), even though I found it depressing and confusing. Every cloud has a silver lining maybe? 🙂
That’s a new title for me. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad I got to meet you there! Thanks so much for coming out—I hope you enjoyed it. You’re so right about Garp, and the other titles are new to me.
I read The Help while going to school in the middle of the Belhaven neighborhood in Jackson, MS. It was interesting and unnerving to know which street/railroad crossing/neighborhood she was writing about. A friend’s grandmother also claimed she knew exactly who the characters in the story were based off of. Added some more realism to the pot.
I love it when I’m familiar with a novel’s landmarks. And that’s crazy (meaning: fun) about your friend’s grandmother knowing the characters who inspired the story.
I love how “Atonement” is structured. I think it’s what takes the book from good to great. “The Word Exchange” intrigues me; I’ll definitely have to find that one!
The only one of these I’ve read already is the Help, but I love it.
I would add Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller.
Would you believe I’ve never read a Jodi Picoult novel? Thanks for sharing.
I’ll be honest; they’re not all home runs for me, but this was a good one. I also heartily recommend the book she wrote with her daughter, Between the Lines. (A sequel came out in May; I haven’t read it yet.)
Several of these are already favorites of mine and I’m looking forward to reading the rest…especially “The Lake House.” I love Kate Morton!
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving is another one. Very specific about how the author in the book writes. And maybe how John Irving himself writes?
Hmm, I wonder. 🙂
If you’d like another book with a big meta-story about stories, I’d recommend If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino. A friend gifted me this for my birthday and said, “You’re going to love it or really, really hate it.”
I loved it — but it was interesting and challenging!
I don’t know that one—thanks for sharing!
I was engrossed in Atonement until I got to the last chapter. I don’t usually throw books, but this one somehow landed on the floor, several feet from where I was sitting. Such an infuriating ending!
That sounds very much like my reaction.
Ditto. Like a bad episode of Dallas.
There were good episodes of Dallas?
😉
Yes! I HATED that ending! Ruined a good book.
This reminded me of a series of books where the two main characters come to life in the author’s New York apartment. An English lord and his male servant. While much hilarity does ensue, the paragraph that made laugh until I cried was when the author character describes how by a certain chapter in each book she must write a scene she called, ” insert tab A into slot B”. And of course, that became even more difficult with the owner of tab A sitting in her kitchen drinking coffee. For some reason I think it’s called “Maggie By The Book”, but I can’t be sure. It’s been years…
I definitely think of love scenes in books as very funny after that!
Haha! That sounds promising.
I found this title at my library, sounds amazing! Hope it’s what you’re remembering as it just went on my to-check-out list!
If you can tell me without giving anything away, what kind of disturbing scenes are in the Thirteenth Tale? I’m interested to read it but I am sensitive about some things.
About Kate Morton- Her plots really capture me. I don’t usually care for books written in that back-and-forth style (what’s that called?), but I get so invested in her stories that I just have to read her books anyway!
I remember self-harm and implied incest and rape. Then stereotypical gothic (think Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre) scenes.
If I could delete about five sentences from the book I’d be more comfortable with it. There’s not a lot. It’s sexual stuff.
And one guy who kills himself, right? And the little girl finds his body, with a nasty description. Also there’s a scene where they open up his apartment (before he’s found) and find, well, nastiness. That actually bothered me worse than his body. So when you know they’re about to do that, just skip ahead a couple paragraphs and you’ll be fine!
“Delightfully” I’m not sure about, but I remember that writer’s block and deadlines figured prominently in Stephen King’s 1998 novel “Bag of Bones”. He did win the Bram Stoker award for Best Novel for that year.
Oh, interesting! I haven’t read that one.
I am reading Angle of Repose right now and am enjoying it except for the modern bits. I do like that he is putting the story together as his research unfolds and he allows that he doesn’t really know how the characters feel about their lives, he is making do with some background and old letters. I also like the parts about California because I live there these days and have been trying to understand the weather, the land and some of it’s essence. Stegner seems to have an understanding of it.
So excited for Kate’s new book – got it on pre-order!
Love Atonement – it’s one of my favorites. Ian McEwan is such a gifted storyteller.
I bought The Thirteenth Tale at a library sale, but haven’t read it yet – I’ll have to add it to the pile!
The Rumor was my favourite Hilderbrand book thus far for all the reasons you mentioned. I’m just fan-girling over here after seeing the picture of you interviewing her, sounds like such a great weekend!
It was my favorite to date, too. 🙂
The Help is one of favorite books!
Can men comment too? 🙂 James Michener put out a book in the early ’90s called The Novel. It’s a fictional work that looks at the writing, publishing, sales, and marketing of one book through the eyes of different business segments. The same book but looking at it through the minds and priorities of each individual group. It’s one of his lesser known works and it really got far worse reviews than it deserved. I think critics and readers took shots at him and the book because it wasn’t Michener-ish enough. I stumbled upon it when I was looking for a book in a REALLY small library. Fortunately, the lack of selection forced me to it, and I loved it. That in itself taught me a lesson. If you like reading about the business of books and publishing, I think you’ll enjoy this one. It’s really a fun read and it’s a lot shorter than his epics.
Comments from men are always welcome! Bonus: you stand out because you’re a rarity. 🙂
I thought I was familiar with Michener’s work but I’ve never heard of The Novel! Thanks for the recommendation.
Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is a worthy addition, along with the Love Affairs of Nathaniel P and Summer in the South.
There are many books on this list I look forward to reading. Thank you! The Rumor is one of them. I must gently point out that in the main blog text refers to an affair with a “gardener” but then in the main description of the book it says “landscape architect.” As a licensed landscape architect I feel obliged to point out that those two professions are quite different. It’s the equivalent of calling an architect a contractor. Related, yes, but also very different. I haven’t read the book so I’m not sure how this character is portrayed. For anyone interested in learning what landscape architects do, I invite them to visit the website of the American Society of Landscape Architects at asla(dot)org. Landscape Architects work on a variety of projects from urban revitalization, campus planning, memorials (like the 9-11 Memorial), ecological restoration, transportation, parks (like the Highline in New York and Millennim Park and Lurie Garden in Chicago), green roofs, and yes, residential design. It’s a vast field that can touch our everyday lives and it would be wonderful if more people had an accurate understanding of the profession.
Ha! Busted. Although in my defense Elin Hilderbrand summarized the book on Sunday using the term “gardener.” 🙂 I tend to geek out a little about your profession: I’ve had a little bit of an obsession, especially with the Olmsteds, ever since I read Witold Rybcynski’s A Clearing in the Distance.
It makes me very, very uncomfortable that white women continue to promote The Help even though our black sisters have repeatedly decried it as a racist book. I would love to see your response to the many astute critiques by black readers, critics, and historians.
Thursday Next! So glad Leigh mentioned that series. I just read Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson, which is all about what happens when a woman writes a novel about her fellow villagers. I also recently read a delightfully “meta” novel called How to Write a Novel, by Melanie Sumner. What a great list!
These are great ones!
I know I’m late to chip in here, but The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an entertaining (and educational) epistolary novel that deals with the process of writing and promoting books. I didn’t know anything about the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands before I read it. This description makes it sound dry, but it’s witty and quick to read. I just reread it, so I don’t know why I didn’t think of mentioning it earlier!
That’s a great addition to this list!
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. It’s the most book-aware/reader-aware book I’ve ever encountered.
Thanks for sharing this!
Update on the Angle of Repose – I just finished it today it was only 555 pages for me. Wow, what a lot of frustration, endless dry hope, suffering and repenting for one book. Susan didn’t deserve all of that and Oliver should not have forced that on everyone. I kept wanting to talk to him, “what are you thinking?” Stegner wrote Susan’s character as if she was modern but although she earned their keep through her work, she never got to live the way she needed to, only the way he needed to. So sad.
So, all i can think of are movies, but Stranger than Fiction and Alex & Emma both come to mind. Also, I recently read Where’d You Go Bernadette, based on your recommendation here and it’s one of my favorites of the year! With a slight stretch I think that might fit here. And it’s just amazing! I’ve gotten so many good book recommendations here in the last couple weeks, I’ve exhausted my holds limit at the library and had to start adding them to a “list” on the library site instead!
I’m so glad—thanks for letting me know!
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan also fits into this category – to tell you why would be to give away the ending, but let’s just say it was a good ending that I was surprised by (and I am not often surprised by endings)!
I’m so curious! I’ve read several of his books, but not this one.