Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher [Paperback]

Erika Holzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2005

As "Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher," subtitled "A novelist's mentor-protege relationship with the author of 'Atlas Shrugged'," suggests, Holzer's unique personal relationship with Rand enabled Holzer to learn fiction writing at her mentor's knee. Both literary autobiography and touching tribute, it explores the creative process at work from both Rand's AND Holzer's perspectives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Humane, dramatic, humorous, touching, a tour de force! A significant contribution to Rand studies, intellectual history, and literary theory. -- Chris Matthew Sciabarra, Editor, "The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies"

I wish I were a creative writing professor; I would use this book as a text. Erika Holzer writes movingly. -- Mimi Gladstein, Professor of English

Part fascinating memoir, part how-to book, part anthology. I read Holzer's book in a single sitting. -- Jeff Riggenbach, literary critic

About the Author

Lawyer-turned-novelist Erika Holzer, with her husband, was Ayn Rand's lawyer and helped recover and restore Rand's classic Italian-made film, "We the Living." Holzer is also the author of a human rights espionage novel, "Double Crossing," and the thriller "Eye for an Eye," which was a Paramount film starring Sally Field and which Nelson Demille dubbed "an American 'Clockwork Orange'." She also co-authored two non-fiction books, available on Amazon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Madison Press (December 15, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0615130410
• ISBN-13: 978-0615130415
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,415,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Rand, Ayn

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tough Balancing Act Deftly Accomplished, July 20, 2006

By 

Sunni Maravillosa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher (Paperback)

Although I owe a lot to Ayn Rand's ideas, I'm not interested in glorifying her. And I've wearied of reading related material, because much of it is uncritical, or worse -- just more titillating (to someone, apparently) natterings about her Inner Circle and excommunications therefrom. It might have been unfair of me to suspect such material would be lurking in the pages of Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher, but other books have wandered off their purported focus and into those thickets. Refreshingly, Holzer did not. She not only stayed on the subject, thus providing an excellent overview of the craft of fiction writing, but she created a three-dimensional portrayal of Rand. Delightfully absent are the clichés of flashing eyes, gathering stormclouds, and absolutist pronouncements; instead the reader is treated to genuine exchanges of ideas between Rand and Holzer. Given the focus of the book on a process -- creating good fiction -- rather than Rand herself, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Holzer achieves such a rich depiction.

Not having seriously tried my hand at fiction, nor likely to do so anytime soon, I nonetheless found Holzer's treatment of the process fascinating. She doesn't glibly state that anyone can create good fiction; however, Holzer does assert that much of the craft can be learned, and offers much to back that claim. In several places I became so intrigued that I was tempted to set some writing exercises for myself. And I'm sure I'm not the only reader to find irony in discovering a chapter titled Flexibility.

Through her willingness to recreate the learning process she went through with Rand as well as her sharing of excerpts of her writing, Holzer vivifies the process of fiction writing. But that's not to suggest that Holzer airily dismisses the challenges inherent in the process; all along the way, she identifies traps that an author can fall into and never climb out of. Nor does her method necessarily doom works to formulaic blandness. Rather, Holzer distills the process to fundamentals, and offers advice gleaned by years of experience.

In Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher, Erika Holzer has accomplished something remarkable: she reaches beyond the mythic figure, beyond the intellectual accomplishments and oft-emphasized human failings, and creates a well-rounded, believable portrayal of Ayn Rand. She also creates a loose how-to that itself reads like an adventure. Any prose writer will find helpful information here; likewise, anyone interested in Rand will enjoy the peek behind the monolithic façade so often encountered.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The influence of Ayn Rand, January 17, 2006

By 

warrenm "warrenm" (Virginia Beach, VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher (Paperback)

To a lot of people in my generation, Ayn Rand was more than just a great novelist; through her books, "Atlas Shrugged," and "The Fountainhead," she was also the intellectual guru of a philosophy which held that most of society's advances were created by people who were primarily pursuing their own well-being. Call it the path of enlightened self-interest -- as opposed to the idea of "Go to sleep; Big Daddy government will take care of everything for you."
In other words, when Bill Gates started out, he wasn't trying to become the world's greatest philanthropist; he was trying to become the greatest software innovator who ever lived. The philanthrophy was a result of his success, not the reason for it.
Chalk that one up to Ayn Rand's philosophy. But despite her great influence on our lives, she has always been a character somewhat shrouded in mystery -- until Erika Holzer's new book, "Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing teacher."
Ms. Holzer, as a young lawyer in New York City, become a close friend of Ayn Rand's and her very personal memoir goes past the philosophy to help remind us just what an interesting, vital character Ms. Rand was in her lifetime.
She was also one fabulous teacher of writing -- (as witness Ms. Holzer's own novels) -- and this book is highly recommended for anybody who wants to learn to write with power and precision. It belongs on every writer's shelf.
warren m. in virginia beach.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treat yourself to a fascinating read!, January 15, 2006

By 

Jeff Warren (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher (Paperback)

I was thoroughly captivated by Erika Holzer's book--enjoyable on many levels. She is a writer of superb skill who, inspired by Ayn Rand's tutelege, developed her raw talent to become a first-rate novelist. Her ability to share with us, first-hand, Rand's thought processes, not only about writing, but the logic by which she drew conclusions is delicious! There were times when I found myself inside that bubble that encompassed the two of them as they sat on Rand's living room sofa, lost in rapt discussion. She brings Ayn Rand to light. She brings her to life for us, especially those of us who knew her directly, or even indirectly. Holzer's writing style is equal to the task, not an easy assignment when writing about a literary icon such as Ayn Rand. Rand's influence can be seen here, but Holzer's larger-than-life approach--the sense of life she projects is clearly her own. This wonderful account affirms and reminds us of our need to find heroes, not only in Art but in everyday life. In addition to this fascinating journal of her mentorship with the great author, we are treated to two of MS Holzer's short stories. I found both to be intriguing and clever.

Credit should be given to Graphic Designer Iris Bell who has imbued this book with a kind of stately elegance. Her creative touches make this wonderful book all the richer.

I recommend, without reservation, "Ayn Rand: My fiction-Writing Teacher" for its content, its engaging style and for the gift of its spiritual and emotional fuel.

Jeff Warren, Los Angeles