All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost

Synopsis

a Haunting Story Of Art, Ambition, Love, And Friendship, Delivered In Elegant, Exacting Prose.

at Their Renowned Writing School, Every Student Is Simultaneously Terrified Of And Attracted To The Charismatic Poet And Professor Miranda Sturgis, Whose High Standards For Art Are Both Intimidating And Inspiring. As Two Students, Roman And Bernard, Strive To Win Her Admiration, The Lines Between Mentorship, Friendship, And Love Are Blurred.

roman's First Book Wins A Prestigious Prize. Meanwhile, Bernard Labors For Years Over A Single Poem. Secrets Of The Past Begin To Surface, Friendships Are Broken, And Miranda Continues To Cast A Shadow Over Their Lives. all Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost Is A Brilliant Evocation Of The Demands Of Ambition And Vocation, Personal Loyalty And Poetic Truth.

publishers Weekly

chang, Director Of The Iowa Writers' Workshop And Author Of Hunger And Inheritance, Sticks Close To Home As She Follows Roman Morris From His Days As An M.f.a. Student In The Late 1980s To His Soaring Career As A Published Poet, Tenured Professor, And Pulitzer Prize Winner. Unfortunately, The Book Lends Credence To The Clichés That Plague Modern Poets And The Institutions That Foster Them: Wine-fueled Workshops Are Held By Candlelight, And Roman's Fantasies About His Talented, Beautiful, And Aloof Workshop Professor Lead To A Student-teacher Affair. Roman's Eventual Success Brings Out His Resentment Of The Academy And Its Favoritism And Politics, But This Is A Work Of Fiction, And The Championing Of Creative Writing Programs Should Not Be Its Cause. In Chang's Hands, The World Of Poetry Is A Cliché; Instead Of A Novel, She Delivers A Case Study Of The Modern Poet With Little Bearing In Reality And Characters As One-dimensional As The Premise. While The Language Is Well Crafted, Readers May Be Disappointed By The Lack Of Quality Storytelling. (sept.)