"All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost"

When I first started reading Lan Samantha Chang’s “All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost” (W. W. Norton, 2010), I thought it would be the typical, somewhat self-referential and self-indulgent novel about writers and writing programs. Chang is the director of the famed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and the first part of the novel is set in the fictional Bonneville School writer’s program. Despite this expectation, or – to be honest -- maybe partly because of it, I looked forward to reading this novel. Sure enough, there were some classic scenes of graduate student/writers’ reading their work around a seminar table and having it discussed and sometimes “bludgeoned” by their classmates and their revered professor, the mysterious Miranda. There were also classic scenes of angst, doubt, and dark nights full of self-examination about whether one had the talent to be a successful writer. In this first section, we get to know the main characters -- Roman, Bernard, Lucy, and Miranda – and their entanglements. Then the novel jumps forward to the future and follows the lives, careers, loves of, and intersections among, these characters for perhaps 25-30 years. Chang explores the nature of being a writer/poet/artist, and the delicate connections between one’s writing life and one’s personal life. She leads readers to imagine different ways for a writer to live. Roman, for example, takes a fairly traditional (for those few writers talented enough and fortunate enough) path to success as a poet and writing teacher. Lucy, intentionally or not, puts her writing mostly on hold while raising a child. Bernard is a sort of semi-recluse who chooses to devote his life to writing one long poem, at the cost of poverty and a rather restricted life, a price he is willing to pay. The character development is intriguing, and there are a couple of surprises near the end of the novel, but the surprises are –- fortunately –- fully in character for these writers we have come to know. So my initial concerns about predictability and tired scenes were –- mostly –- proven wrong, and I found the novel a rewarding exploration of the writing life, and enjoyable to read.