Charles J Shields – författare

In 2006, Charles Shields reached out to Kurt Vonnegut in a letter asking for his endorsement for a planned biography. The first response was no ("A most respectful demurring by me for the excellent writer Charles J. Shields, who offered to be my biographer"). Unwilling to take no for an answer, propelled by a passion for his subject, and already deep into his research, Shields wrote again and this time, to his delight, the answer came back: "O.K." For the next year - a year that ended up being Vonnegut's last - Shields had unprecedented access to Vonnegut and his letters. While millions know Vonnegut as a counterculture guru, anti-war activist, and satirist of American culture, few outside his closest friends and family knew the full arc of his extraordinary life. "And So It Goes" changes that, painting the portrait of a man who made friends easily but always felt lonely, sold millions of books but never felt appreciated, and described himself as a humanist but fought with humanity at large. As a former public relations man, Vonnegut crafted his image carefully - the avuncular, curly-haired humourist - though he admitted, "I myself am a work of fiction."The extremely wide and overwhelmingly positive review coverage for "And So It Goes" has been nothing less than extraordinary and confirm it as the definitive biography of Kurt Vonnegut.

When Stoner was published in 1965, the novel sold only a couple of thousand copies before disappearing with hardly a trace. Yet John Williams’s quietly powerful tale of a Midwestern college professor, William Stoner, whose life becomes a parable of solitude and anguish eventually found an admiring audience in America and especially in Europe. The New York Times called Stoner “a perfect novel,” and a host of writers and critics, including Colum McCann, Julian Barnes, Bret Easton Ellis, Ian McEwan, Emma Straub, Ruth Rendell, C. P. Snow, and Irving Howe, praised its artistry. The New Yorker deemed it “a masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.”The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel traces the life of Stoner’s author, John Williams. Acclaimed biographer Charles J. Shields follows the whole arc of Williams’s life, which in many ways paralleled that of his titular character, from their shared working-class backgrounds to their undistinguished careers in the halls of academia. Shields vividly recounts Williams’s development as an author, whose other works include the novels Butcher’s Crossing and Augustus (for the latter, Williams shared the 1972 National Book Award). Shields also reveals the astonishing afterlife of Stoner, which garnered new fans with each American reissue, and then became a bestseller all over Europe after Dutch publisher Lebowski brought out a translation in 2013. Since then, Stoner has been published in twenty-one countries and has sold over a million copies.

When Stoner was published in 1965, the novel sold only a couple of thousand copies before disappearing with hardly a trace. Yet John Williams’s quietly powerful tale of a Midwestern college professor, William Stoner, whose life becomes a parable of solitude and anguish eventually found an admiring audience in America and especially in Europe. The New York Times called Stoner “a perfect novel,” and a host of writers and critics, including Colum McCann, Julian Barnes, Bret Easton Ellis, Ian McEwan, Emma Straub, Ruth Rendell, C. P. Snow, and Irving Howe, praised its artistry. The New Yorker deemed it “a masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.”The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel traces the life of Stoner’s author, John Williams. Acclaimed biographer Charles J. Shields follows the whole arc of Williams’s life, which in many ways paralleled that of his titular character, from their shared working-class backgrounds to their undistinguished careers in the halls of academia. Shields vividly recounts Williams’s development as an author, whose other works include the novels Butcher’s Crossing and Augustus (for the latter, Williams shared the 1972 National Book Award). Shields also reveals the astonishing afterlife of Stoner, which garnered new fans with each American reissue, and then became a bestseller all over Europe after Dutch publisher Lebowski brought out a translation in 2013. Since then, Stoner has been published in twenty-one countries and has sold over a million copies.

Wer war der Mann, der den perfekten Roman schrieb?John Williams gilt heute als Ikone der modernen amerikanischen Literatur. Aber wer war dieser große Autor, der erst weit nach seinem Tod berühmt wurde?Wie viel hatte der Universitätsdozent aus Denver mit ›Stoner‹ gemein? Wieso hat ein feinsinniger Intellektueller wie Williams einen so abgründigen »Western« wie ›Butcher''s Crossing‹ verfasst? Was hat es mit Williams'' Bemerkung auf sich, sein einziges autobiographisches Buch sei der Roman über Kaiser ›Augustus‹? Und warum hat er sich von seinem berührenden Debüt ›Nichts als die Nacht‹ später distanziert?Charles J. Shields legt die erste Biographie über John Williams vor. Packend wie Williams'' Romane schildert Shields dessen karge Kindheit in Texas, seine Passionen, seine vier Ehen und seinen intellektuellen Weg.

John Williams (1922-1994)  gav ut två diktsamlingar och fyra romaner, men slog inte igenom hos en större publik under sin livstid och glömdes i stort sett bort efter sin död. Nu hör han till de senaste årens verkliga litterära sensationer, inte minst genom det postuma genombrottet internationellt med romanen Stoner.Några månader efter att Stoner getts ut 1965 undrade en förvånad recensent hur en så gripande och vacker bok gått helt obemärkt förbi. Romanen omnändes i ett fåtal tidningar och glömdes sedan bort.

Tjugo år efter författarens död återupptäcktes Stoner och fick ett sällan skådat internationell genombrott. Kritiker och läsare kapitulerade inför den lågmälda men intensiva berättelsen om universitetsproffessorn William Stoner som lär sig leva genom litteraturen.

Men vem var John Williams? Under trettio år arbetade han som lärare i kreativt skrivande vid universitetet i Denver, samtidigt som han skrev oavbrutet. Han kom från enkla förhållanden och nådde verkligt erkännande först när hans sista roman Augustus belönades med National Book Award 1973. 

I Charles J. Shields biografi framträder bilden av en författare som delade sina romankaraktärers ångest och ensamhet. Shields skärskådar här ett skrivande liv kantat av motgångar och personliga tillkortakommanden. Men det är också en berättelse om kärleken till litteraturen och en initierad inblick i skrivandets vedermödor och glädje. Charles J. Sheilds har skrivit flera prisbelönta biografier, bland annat om Harper Lee och Kurt Vonnegut. Mannen som skrev den perfekta romanen är den första biografin över John Williams, den under sin livstid praktiskt taget okände författaren som idag framstår som ett av efterkrigstidens stora amerikanska författarskap.