Michener tells the poignant story of how he dreamed of writing an epic novel of Mexico, actually wrote most of the novel, and lost the manuscript. Its discovery 30 years later led to the recent bestseller Mexico. Also includes the never-before published novella The Texas Girls.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this intermittently interesting portrait of a writer's mind at work, Michener reconstructs the birth of his recently published novel Mexico , which he had originally abandoned in 1961. He blames the novel's derailment on a mocking editorial suggestion by Bennett Cerf, then his publisher at Random House, which caused him to lose control of the story's diverse strands. Misplaced for three decades, the lost manuscript turned up in 1991 and Michener completed the multigenerational saga centering on a three-day bullfighting festival. Discussing the "colossal" writer's blocks he has faced over the years, Michener offers advice to aspiring writers as he describes his many trips to Mexico, divulges his sources of inspiration and relives the writing of Mexico with the aid of reproduced journal pages, workbook entries and photographs.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Invaluable to any aspiring or working author...Marvelous, really!" -- Booklist
"Michener makes history come alive in this engaging slice of Americana and Texas lore..." -- Publishers Weekly
"Michener makes history come alive in this engaging slice of Americana and Texas lore..." -- Publishers Weekly
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Text on the Writing Process,
By
This review is from: My Lost Mexico (Mass Market Paperback)
For fans of Michener's book, "Mexico", this is an excellent little companion book to read the behind the scenes, "Making of" book. Lots of photographs, drawings, and copies of hand-written notes, tell the tale of the tale. Very interesting to see how even such a prolific author as Michener struggled to complete his novel of Mexico.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good read,
By Highlanderthal "LONE WOLF" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Lost Mexico (Hardcover)
not our typical Michener book, it is more the making of a Michener book, in this case the making of Mexico, and how he overcame a 30 year writers cramp to do this, well worth the read to any fan of his Mexico novel or to aspiring writers, not for a casual read otherwise.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Worthwhile Read,
By John R. Lindermuth "J. R. Lindermuth, author ... (Coal Township PA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: My Lost Mexico (Mass Market Paperback)
An interesting account detailing how Michener began the novel, 'Mexico,' abandoned the manuscript for 30 years, then came back to complete what became an international bestseller in 1992-93.
Ironically, though I admire Michener as one of Pennsylvania's stellar writers and have read much of his work and love Mexico, its history and culture, I've never read this particular novel. I can't really say why I've neglected this particular book, but I now will have to read it. The interesting part of this book is how it provides insight into Michener's writing process. He was a prodigious researcher and a hard worker. He often spent 12-15 hours a day at his typewriter. He was a genius at plot construction. Yet his lengthy, complex novels came together on the barest of outlines. The examples he gives of his outlining in this book show that the term to him might be as simple as a single word defining the 'outline' of a chapter. Other elements he refers to as 'outlining' include drawings and photographs which he used to focus his imagination. Since I haven't yet read `Mexico' I can't comment on the changes he mentions and his reasons for them. Other than the memoir, `The World is My Home,' this is one of the few opportunities to gain insight on Michener's creative process and I found it an interesting and worthwhile read.
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