Magnetic Field(s) [Paperback]

Ron Loewinsohn (Author), Steve Erickson (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2002

Organised around the idea that "you can't know what a magnetic field is like unless you're inside of it," Ron Loewinsohn's first novel opens from the disturbing perspective of a burglar in the midst of a robbery, and travels through the thoughts and experiences (both real and imaginary) of a group of characters whose lives are connected both coincidentally and intimately. All of the characters have a common desire to imagine and invent rather horrifying stories about the lives of people around them. As the novel develops, certain phrasings and images recur improbably, drawing the reader into a subtle linguistic game that calls into question the nature of authorship, the ways we inhabit and invade each other's lives, and the shape of fiction itself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Loewinsohn knows how to conjure, how to surprise the reader, which may be the best, or at least the rarest, of the novelist's talents." - Anatole Broyard, New York Times "Loewinsohn's novel displays an unmistakably impressive talent, the composure and resources not of a 'first' but of an accomplished novelist." - Publishers Weekly "An ingenious little jewel of writing." - Booklist

About the Author

Ron Loewinsohn is the author of five books of poetry, among them Watermelons, L'Autre and Goat Dances. He has received numerous grants and awards, including a Harvard Graduate Prize Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He currently lives in Berkeley, California and teaches at the University of California. Steve Erickson, former Arts Editor for the Los Angeles Weekly, is the acclaimed author of numerous works of literary science fiction and non-fiction, including The Sea Came at Midnight, Tours of the Black Clock and Amnesiascope.

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press; 1 edition (November 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564782824
• ISBN-13: 978-1564782823
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,868,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiencing Space(s), March 27, 2003

By 

wordtron (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Magnetic Field(s) (Paperback)

In a recent interview, Loewinsohn explains that he wrote the novel in basically six weeks(!), but when I think about how I read this amazing, enthralling, mysterious novel in practically one fevered gulp, I'm not surprised. I can't wait to read it again. Divided into three sections, MF begins with a burglar's experiences of being in the homes (spaces) of complete strangers and what he imagines their lives are like. The second section is from the perspective of the owner of the last house the burglar is breaking into. They briefly interact, in a very odd and funny scene. The second character turns out to be a sort of "sound artist" who takes his family to spend the summer on the Hudson in a sublet. There, while working on a sound sculpture called "Magnetic Field," he begins to think about the family that lived in the house he's subletting. In the final section, he finds out that his collaborator on MF has been having an affair, and he's shocked that he'd had no idea, and begins imagining how the affair had developed. All along, there are phrases that repeat though in entirely different contexts. Very unsettling yet hypnotic. This truly felt like more than just a book in my hands, but a wholly successful work of art that in addressing the idea of space, whether physical or personal, and how we experience it, completely altered my own experience of space. It was like taking a drug. Which maybe is why I can't wait to re-read it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Book To Save, April 17, 2008

By 

Jane Trucksis "nola janie" (New Orleans LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magnetic Field(s) (Paperback)

Recently there was a project called "The Big Read" at the library,

and it posed a question inspired by the Ray Bradbury novel "Fahrenheit

451": if you had to save one book from oblivion, what would it be?

I chose Ron Loewinsohn's "Magnetic Field(s)."

This novel is structured like a symphony, in 3 movements. As the

stories unfold, they interweave, just as a theme will reappear throughout

a piece of music. This is just one of the beauties of this novel.

The language is simple and clear, yet poetic and evocative. The

characters are richly developed, and you really get into their heads,

feeling their anxiety as if it was your own. The images that

Loewinsohn creates will stay with you, hauntingly.

I've always had recurring dreams of apartments I've lived in, and

after reading "Magnetic Field(s)" I have an idea why. The spaces we

live in, visit, imagine, all become a part of us, and determine much

about our character.

You will never forget this marvelous novel.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book i've read..., May 7, 2005

By 

Kailyn A. Hasbrouck "collector" (santa cruz) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magnetic Field(s) (Paperback)

I try not to go into titannic size book stores anymore. but i did a year or so ago...my eyes were flirting with the spines and covers, some with familiar names, some unknown. i usually pick something up that looks interesting...but magnetic fields picked me. it was on the bottom shelf to the left. and i thought to myself "you have to read this book". And i did. Magnetic Fields is the craft at its best. As well as throwing boomerangs around what people think creative writing is.