Tobias Wolff is a prolific writer of contemporary short fiction. Though, most readers are familiar with his memoir This Boy\u2019s Life (which will endure as a masterpiece).<\/p>\n
In any genre, Wolff cuts to the bone. His prose is bright and precise. The characters in his short stories are most often in the process of shedding illusions, exposing fresh and raw flaws or triumphs.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m drawn to Wolff\u2019s writing for a number of reasons, but two in particular stand out.<\/p>\n
First, Wolff is particularly adept at exploring the continual desire to reinvent ourselves. Like Fitzgerald, Wolff has a keen ability for displaying the revelatory moment: the young man succumbing to his baser morals, the sibling trying to pry himself out of a hole, the liar trying to be true to himself, the professor unburdening herself with the lecture she always wanted to deliver.<\/p>\n
I am also particularly interested in understanding the entire body of work of Tobias and his brother Geoffrey Wolff. The two brothers were separated by their divorcing parents early in life. Both followed different paths to become writers, both writing fascinating memoirs (Geoffrey\u2019s memoir, Duke of Deception: Memories of My Father, is an unparalleled portrait of a parent), both mastering the art of fiction. It\u2019s not sibling rivalry I\u2019m after. It\u2019s how two like-minded and thoughtful brothers skillfully reveal humanity\u2019s comic and tragic ways and means.<\/p>\n
Tobias Wolff is a prolific writer of contemporary short fiction. Though, most readers are familiar with his memoir This Boy\u2019s Life (which will endure as a masterpiece). In any genre, Wolff cuts to the bone. His prose is bright and precise. The characters in his short stories are most often in the process of shedding … <\/p>\n