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The Morels, by Christopher Hacker
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The Morels─Arthur, Penny, and Will─are a happy family of three living in New York City. So why would Arthur choose to publish a book that brutally rips his tightly knit family unit apart at the seams? Arthur's old schoolmate Chris, who narrates the book, is fascinated with this very question as he becomes accidentally reacquainted with Arthur. A single, aspiring filmmaker who works in a movie theater, Chris envies everything Arthur has, from his beautiful wife to his charming son to his seemingly effortless creativity. But things are not always what they seem.
The Morels takes a unique look at the power of art─literature, music and film in particular─and challenges us as readers to think about some fascinating questions to which there are no easy answers. Where is the line between art and obscenity, between truth and fiction, between revolutionary thinking and brainless shock value, between craftsmanship and commerce? Is it possible to escape the past? Can you save your family by destroying it?
- Sales Rank: #1329221 in eBooks
- Published on: 2013-04-30
- Released on: 2013-04-30
- Format: Kindle eBook
From Booklist
*Starred Review* In Hacker’s engaging debut, eccentric author Arthur Morel writes a novel that pushes the envelope of art-for-art’s-sake beyond anyone’s capacity to understand, much less forgive. Portrayed via the indulgent eye of someone who may be Arthur’s best friend, he seems like a paragon of artistic genius. But had this been written from his family’s point of view, Art would appear nothing short of certifiable, maybe even indictable. That’s how far Art’s art stretches the bounds of acceptability, even morality. While Hacker’s cleverly crafted characters grapple with the fallout after Art’s book hits the stands—has Art actually experienced the actions depicted in his novel?—larger questions loom. Should art be constrained by social mores, or does great art rise above them? Can literature be judged on the same plane as, say, a painting or a play? How much of the artist’s soul is exposed in his/her work? Can Arthur be given a pass just because he’s the son of totally loopy parents, who raised him in an environment of moral nihilism thinly disguised as artistic privilege? Whether a reader is intrigued by the philosophical questions or not, this family’s plight makes for a marvelous read. --Donna Chavez
Review
"Stunning, unsettling … this is an extraordinary book."
—Commentary Magazine
"The Morels is gripping and mesmerizing, even at its most depraved and saddening." —The A.V. Club
"The Morels asks big questions. What is art? What risks must be taken to grab our attention? Where is the line between truth and fiction? Hacker's story kept me up at night, turning the pages to find out what would happen."
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Audacious, thought-provoking…. One of the top first novels of the year. The author spins out the story at a fast clip, creating a believable and entertaining tale. Woven into the fabric of the work are discussions of the function of art in society, the difficulty of arriving at the truth, and a thoughtful, compassionate detailing of the social and personal repercussions of individual actions and beliefs."
—Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
"In Hacker’s engaging debut, eccentric author Arthur Morel writes a novel that pushes the envelope of art-for-art’s-sake beyond anyone’s capacity to understand, much less forgive.... Whether a reader is intrigued by the philosophical questions or not, this family’s plight makes for a marvelous read."
—Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"The Morels is a total shock, and announces the arrival of a blistering new talent."
—Three Guys One Book
"Christopher Hacker's The Morels is a captivating book, a clever, engaging read. But it also does a lot of heavy lifting, asking big questions about art, life, and family, transforming this ambitious debut into something really special."
—Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins
"The Morels is a brilliant and wickedly hilarious debut novel about artists of all stripes. With a sharp-shooter's eye, alarming honesty and serious wit infused with palpable compassion and affection for his characters, Christopher Hacker has written a rollicking picnic for cynics."
—Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of The Scenic Route
"The Morels is a daring and dangerous novel about the dangers of writing—and perhaps reading—novels, its pages stuffed with love, pain, worry, movies, music, fresh-baked bread, daily life in the real Manhattan, family secrets and, dare I say it, big bold ideas."
—David Gordon, author of The Serialist
"It's hard out there for sons and lovers in Christopher Hacker's accomplished debut, The Morels. To step into both this novel and the eponymous family it harbors is to peek into a house of mirrors that reminds us it can still be dangerous to write a novel, expose a strip of film to light—or make any kind of art, really. Hacker's splendid snapshot of a distinct cultural moment in the life of the American artist truly beguiles, and you're going to want to see how this multi-layered, flying-trapeze-routine of a story ends."
—T Cooper, author of Real Man Adventures
"Hacker's novel asks fundamental questions about imagination and art.... An unnerving and hugely satisfying novel, I hungrily read The Morels less for answers than for the pleasure of the messy and vital world Hacker creates.”
—Victoria Redel, author of The Border of Truth
"A jarring New York story of a self conscious writer who desperately over-intellectualizes his home life in order to psychologically masticate personal demons with devastating results. Set in the gloaming of the 20th century, Hacker’s creation, Arthur Morel, is on a quest to prove art is not only vital but inextricably linked with reality."
—Margarita Shalina, translator of The Duel by Anton Chekhov
“I could not stop reading this book, and it wasn’t because I was searching for some answer but rather I couldn’t wait to get to the next question."
—Michael Seidenberg, Brazenhead Books
"The Morels is an accomplished and moving novel. It’s challenging, and not easy to talk about, but in the end, I fell in love with Hackers’ characters and was deeply touched by their story."
—Cale Hand, The Strand Bookstore
“The Morels is always entertaining.”
—The Wall Street Journal
"Ambitious, sincere....An eloquent treatise on the rights of artists to exploit their personal histories—and why they do so, and at what cost."
—Publishers Weekly
"Hacker is a fine writer....The air of talent lingers on this debut."
—Kirkus
"Hacker moves well beyond the realm of esoteric matters like truth and art and into the darker arena of human relationships and nurture vs. nature with prose that cuts through the intellectual meat to the bone, revealing the humanity of all involved, as deeply flawed as they might be."
—The Gilmore Guide to Books
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Christopher Hacker received a BA in Music Composition from the University of Michigan and an MFA from Columbia University. His stories have appeared in Quarterly West and The Rake, and he was a finalist for a Pushcart Prize in 2009. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife.
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Crosses the "final frontier" of sexual morality
By Trudie Barreras
On more than one occasion since signing on to Amazon Vine, I've had severe doubts about the "target newsletter" that supposedly focuses on items that parallel my expressed interests, but often offers for review such items as diapers or other family-oriented items; after all, I'm a retired person, and my youngest grandchild is 14. I've emphasized in more than one review I've written, as well as in personal communications to the program, where my specific reading interests lie. This month my choices were so limited that I ended up requesting Christopher Hacker's novel with a shrug and a sigh.
Well, I was fooled. This book is an amazing excursion into what I consider to be extremely risky but highly relevant territory. I can't call it a "nail biter", but it definitely picked up momentum. The narrative style is unusual to say the least - but the "real relevance" of the stylistic innovation isn't revealed until the last page.
The narrator, Chris, who is an integral part of the story, is part of a threesome of free-lance film makers who decide to do a documentary of the "real life" of the title character, Arthur Morel, after his supposedly autobiographical novel destroys his family and has him facing arrest on charges of child abuse. This book, as well as the back story and subsequent tragedy that results from its publication, are intricately developed from the perspective of this narrator. It is through the efforts to produce this documentary, as well, that the full intricacy of the plot unfolds, as Chris' life overlaps with the Morel family.
The real essence of this story is, of course, the revulsion that has surfaced in the past 30 years or so around the issue of sexual exploitation of children - specifically boy children. It seems that fiction writers can get away with just about anything nowadays except explicit descriptions of encounters between older men and boys - especially in an incestuous mode. This appears to be "the final frontier" of sexual morality, the crossing of which still has the shock value to cause ultimate censure. One of the illusions that Arthur Morel seems to hold is that it is in fact this shock value that makes "Art" relevant and stimulating. However, what becomes obvious as the story develops is that an exposé which serves to appall but transmits no beauty or compassion is indeed heartless and destructive. It is in the rejection of any concept of love or creativity that is the real tragedy which Hacker's story masterfully describes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Better respected than loved.
By Jill Meyer
"The Morels", a debut novel by Christopher Hacker, is one of those novels that can be described as better respected than loved. The story - a story within a story - is the tale of how a bunch of bad decisions have affected the lives of at least three generations of one family - the Morels - and those of people tangentially connected with them.
Arthur Morel, a musical prodigy, only child of divorced parents has walked through life in seeming non-connection with the realities we all have to deal with. After a particularly beautiful musical recital, the teenaged Arthur has performed an on-stage act of defilement that has stunned and revolted his audience. The years pass, Arthur has met, married a young woman called Penelope, and fathered a son, Will, with her. Penelope supports the family as a pastry chef while Arthur continues to "dabble" with life. He publishes a well-received novel and is in the process of finishing his second novel, called "The Morels", when Christopher Hacker's book begins. The story Hacker tells is narrated by a young man - himself adrift in movie making - who had known Arthur as the young defiler and now moves back into Arthur's life. He acts as teller of Arthur's story and its major interpreter.
"Interpreted" because there are a lot of actions which need to be interpreted to both those affected by the actions and those merely standing-by, observing. Are a man's possible incestuous thoughts always acted on - or can they merely remain, safely, thoughts? Where do lies and truth-telling become hopelessly meshed until neither is recognisable? In a broad way, Hacker's book is a bit like "The Dinner", by Herman Koch, another book where families and lies are tossed together and the truth never quite emerges.
Christopher Hacker's book should make the reader think about truth and lies and that muddy middle in between. Arthur, Penelope, and Will Morel are victims of both lies and truth, which they, themselves, perpetrate. It's an interesting book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
An exploration of art and of Art
By TChris
The Morels might be summarized as a book by Christopher Hacker about a writer named Arthur Morel who writes a book titled The Morels. Yet that summary, while accurate, does not do justice to Hacker's stimulating novel. The Morels is actually two absorbing novels merged into a successful whole. Alternating between philosophy and storytelling, the first half of The Morels is an examination of art: the purpose of art; the meaning of applause; whether the creation of literature should be driven by readers' demands; the difference between literature (solitary in its performance and reception) and most other art (experienced communally and offering immediate feedback to the artist); the extent to which the act of writing literature can be blended with artistic performance. The second half is an examination of an artist. It tells the riveting story of a writer who becomes lost in the blurry gap between the real and fictional worlds he inhabits. What is the difference, Hacker asks, between reality and its artistic representation?
In his desire to create an emotional impact that his audience will experience honestly, Arthur Morel, an accomplished but socially inept student of the violin, does something shocking during a performance. His friend Chris (the novel's narrator), playing the cello in the orchestra, does not see Arthur again for fourteen years. While Arthur seems to have fallen into an ordinary domestic life, complete with wife (Penelope) and child (Will) in Queens, he's also authored a best-selling book -- a fortunate development since, according to Penelope, he's otherwise "barely employable." Chris, a struggling filmmaker who feels adrift and craves guidance, renews his friendship with Arthur with the hope that Arthur will become his mentor. Yet the roles are reversed when Chris tries to become Arthur's teacher, an advocate for responsible limits on artistic license, limits that Arthur dismisses as evidence of limited taste.
The first half of The Morels poses penetrating questions and challenges the reader to form his or her own answers: Is art worthwhile if it fails to provoke, if it appeals only to people who have weak stomachs? Should a writer be shunned for depicting, without judgment, an act that society would universally condemn? Are decency and moraltiy essential components of enriching literature? Is it the obligation of literature (as John Gardner argued) to promote moral conduct? Or is (as Arthur argues) "the death of transgression" also "the death of art"?
Most of the story's drama surrounds Arthur's second novel, The Morels, a book that is about "the dilemmas of everyday life." In other words, like much contemporary fiction, "there's little story to speak of." It is a self-referential novel of "exquisitely rendered scenes, well-observed prose." It also has a shocking ending. Its publication causes repercussions that drive the story's second half.
Does this description of Arthur's novel also apply to Hacker's? Yes and no. Arthur is portrayed as a literary genius. Hacker is not quite of that caliber, although his skills are admirable; his prose is wonderfully descriptive and he wields it to tell a compassionate, intelligent story. Arthur's book "uttered what can't be said" while Hacker found a way to write about provocative art without actually producing it. Arthur reveres and emulates writers like Gass and Barth and Burrows, precisely the writers Gardner eviscerates. They are (Arthur tells us) writers who don't try to make us feel good, who leave us feeling confused about who we are rather than confirming our understanding of ourselves. Hacker straddles the line: he allows the reader to feel good by making it possible for the reader to understand why the artistic representation of depravity might have value -- and to understand why an artist might be driven to produce it. Hacker's novel might be less "courageous" than Arthur's, but that doesn't diminish its worth. And, unlike Arthur's version of The Morels, Hacker's has a plot (in addition to, but intertwined with, unraveling "the puzzle of Arthur Morel"), although it doesn't blossom until the novel's second half. This isn't a courtroom drama, but it does generate dramatic tension as Arthur and his family become entangled in the criminal justice system as it engages in the difficult and error-prone task of separating fact from fiction. And if the ending of Hacker's novel isn't shocking, it is sufficiently surprising to cast the entire story in a new light.
The Morels pulls no punches. It isn't the right book for a reader who craves sunny characters and upbeat endings. Arthur, tortured by the past, learns something meaningful about living in the present, but this isn't a story about someone who learns a valuable lesson and lives happily ever after. No character emerges unscathed (although, as one character learned in Vietnam, "given time, even scorched earth recovers"). While Arthur, Chris, and Will each learn something about how to live a life, the true lessons of The Morels are more subtle. Mining the depths of this memorable novel to unearth them is an enriching experience.
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