"The Destiny Thief," by Richard Russo

Although I mostly read fiction, I also enjoy – as regular readers of this blog know – memoirs and other nonfiction. Once in a while, I read and am thoroughly drawn into books of essays, often by writers that I already know and appreciate as fiction writers. I recently read “The Destiny Thief” (Knopf, 2018), a collection of essays “On Writing, Writers and Life,” by one of my very favorite novelists, Richard Russo (some favorite novels: “Straight Man,” “Empire Falls,” “Bridge of Sighs,” “That Old Cape Magic”). The main reasons I enjoyed these essays were: 1. interesting topics; 2. insightful comments on writing and other topics; and 3. the author’s persona and voice. About the latter: Russo seems like a genuinely good and nice person (and I have heard from a writer friend who knows Russo that this assessment is correct). I know this (being nice) isn’t supposed to matter in writers, and perhaps it doesn’t – too much – in fiction. But in essays, writers are writing about themselves and topics they know, in a more straightforward way than in fiction, and their personas are more easily revealed. Some of the essays in “The Destiny Thief” contain advice about writing and the writing life (Russo was a professor of writing for many years); some are about specific authors (notably Dickens and Twain); others are about people and situations in Russo’s own life. One piece details his musings about the phenomenon of self-publishing, and his concerns about what this movement, along with its accompanying movements related to marketing self-published books on Amazon, will do to the world of literature and to the preservation of distinctions between literary writing and commercial writing. An outstanding and compelling essay is “Imagining Jenny,” about Russo’s longtime close friend and colleague, formerly named James Boylan, as she goes through a transition to womanhood as Jenny Boylan. In particular, the essay focuses on the days of and after Jenny’s surgery, in a city to which both Russo and Boylan’s wife Grace have accompanied her, visit her in the hospital for long hours every day, and unexpectedly become caught up with the difficult life of another transgender patient at that hospital. Russo is devoted to his friend, and fiercely loyal and supportive, yet lets the reader see that he has had some ambivalance, some questions, along the way, since the day two years before when James told his friend about seeing herself as a woman and embarking on hormone and other therapies. Russo is candid and generous in sharing his mixed feelings with readers, showing very human reactions and concerns, although the loyalty and support are always predominant by far. This essay collection is rich and engaging, and although the essays address somewhat diverse topics, Russo’s voice and sensibility tie them together. I thoroughly enjoyed spending a few hours in the company of Russo's voice in this collection.