Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature

Wonderlands joins Charles Baxter's other works of nonfiction, Burning Down the House and The Art of Subtext, and it arises from years of wisdom and reflection on what makes fiction work. The essays here range from insightful thinking on the nature of wonderlands in the fiction of Haruki Murakami and other fabulist writers, to how "request moments" function in a story. Baxter is equally at home tackling a thorny matter such as charisma (which intersects with political figures like Donald Trump) as he is bringing new interest to subjects such as list-making in fiction. Amid these craft essays, an interlude of two personal essays-the story of a horrifying car crash and an introspective "letter to a young poet"-add to the intimate nature of the book. The final essay reflects on a lifetime of writing, and closes with a memorable image of Baxter as a boy, waiting at the window for a parent who never arrives and filling that absence with stories. Searching and erudite, Wonderlands will stand alongside Baxter's prior work as a lasting work of criticism.