Famous Writers I Have Known: A Novel

This fast and fun read of a novel was written as a knowing satire of the academic literary world. The author, James Magnuson, knows what and whom he is talking about: he is the director of the James A. Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. The premise is promising: a self-professed “world class liar”/con man, Frankie, is on the run from the New Jersey mob. He flees to Texas where he is mistaken for a famous fiction writer and whisked off to teach workshops at “The Fiction Institute of Texas.” The novel largely explores the world of the creative-writing program and the relationships writers form with each other as they struggle to have their stories heard and recognized.

But there are deeper themes that are being explored too: we are reading this story from Frankie’s point of view, and he has written a story to recount his time as a story-writer’s guide. Frankie is a great story teller, just not the one he is pretending to be. And he has stories to tell, but just not the one he is pretending to have written. What makes his advice useful is the belief that he has written an important novel, and his advice to his students is taken to heart because of who they believe he is.

In the end, the author might be seen as playfully suggesting that writing fiction is not too different from a con job. Is every writer a fraud? What are the lines between what constitutes lies and what constitutes fiction? What are the uses of imagination that are legitimate and acceptable and what are not?

This novel is diverting and entertaining. Magnuson manages a balance between satire and kindness and has created a moving story that will appeal not just to those familiar with the literary world, but to a broad audience.