How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
A Review of Alexander Chee’s essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.
“What would you read to someone who was dying? Annie Dillard had asked our class. She wanted this to be the standard for our work. There, at the memorial service for my friend, I thought of another: Dying, what stories would you tell?”
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee (2018). Published by Mariner.
If you’re in the literary and/or into contemporary Asian-American literature, the name Alexander Chee has probably come into your world quite a few times. Educated at the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop for his MFA in fiction, he’s best known for his novels, which I believe he has three out currently. I haven’t actually read any of his novels yet, although Queen of the Night is currently checked out and I’m plowing through it next week for sure.
Anyways, again, Alexander Chee is a well known figure in Asian-American literature nowadays. He’s half white and half Korean, as you’ll read in this book, his father died when he was sixteen years old, and he originally wanted to be an artist. The art of becoming a writer just stumbled upon him, which is pretty incredible considering the sheer amount of talent packed into him.
This book is a series of essays reflecting on both his writing life and personal life, and while, at times, it becomes a bit much to read through, I think this is a really good collection all in all and recommend it for writers particularly, or those interested in the life that goes into one’s writing and novels. Now that I’m done my preamble, let’s get straight into it.
Content / Writing
As you’ve probably deduced by now, this is a collection of essays on a variety of topic. Chee writers about the AIDS/HIV pandemic in San Francisco while he is a gay man living through this, his childhood trip to Mexico where he learned Spanish, his father’s death, the Iowa MFA, and many, many sections about living in New York City. It’s a mixed bag of content but it works, because we get insight on how exactly he came to be a writer and why he’s subconsciously inserting aspects of his own life into his novels.
I found these essays absolutely fascinating because Chee didn’t plan on being a writer. He went to college, wanted to be an artist, the head of the department didn’t like him, so he got forced out of the major. He then took writing classes for fun and they just kind of stuck, his professors noticing his talent and Annie Dillard told him he needs to get his MFA. Then, while being in NYC, Chee describes how he basically applied to the Iowa MFA on a whim because his boyfriend was applying. His boyfriend didn’t get in but Chee did, which is absolutely insane and a testament to his talent.
The NYC essays are also much appreciated, because I used to live there for college and love hearing about people’s experiences with the city. I don’t plan on moving back but I do miss it, so I enjoyed these portions a little too much. The AIDS crisis essays were a bit tough for me to get through, because he was brutally honestly and unfiltered about his descriptions of what was going on, especially considering he also reveals his childhood sexual abuse. There’s a lot of heavy stuff going on in this book, so be prepared!
This isn’t exactly about writing an autobiographical novel, nor is it telling you how to do so. It’s just an overarching framework in how Chee does this himself, but the title may confuse some readers, especially ones not familiar with the literary world and whatnot.
Essay collections are really hard to pull off if you’re not invested in the person originally. Like we’d love to read essays from a celebrity or someone who’s achieved quote-on-quote great fame in their lifetime, but it doesn’t mean their writing is any good. Chee’s writing is extremely good and he manages to capture the attention of readers brilliantly. It flows so quickly and smoothly that when there were topics I didn’t even care about, I still kept going through quite fine. Some other essay collections I’ve had to put down before, but this was a very seamless process in chugging through this collection.
There’s a brutal honesty, too, in this collection, that I came to appreciate. He doesn’t really sugarcoat his life or what was going on. He worked as a waiter for four years because he had nothing he could do in regards to career after getting his MFA. It wasn’t until after he published his first book that he got a teaching gig. And that’s the reality for most of us as creatives.
Overall Thoughts
I checked this out from the library, but I think I’m going to eventually buy a personal copy for myself to own in my collection. I’m very picky about what I bring into my home, but this fits the bill. As a writer, especially one experiencing many of the things Chee felt when he was a young person my age, this made me feel hopeful about pursuing writing as a career, although I am not aiming to get my MFA or PhD in writing. We don’t have to start writing from an ungodly young age. We can start later in life and still be successful, still be applauded for our work. And that’s what I learned from Chee, that despite his struggles in getting here, he made it in the end.
