The Empty Chair: Two Novellas

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Description

The Empty Chair, a collection of two poignant novellas by acclaimed author Bruce Wagner, explores the depths of human suffering and resilience. In "First Guru," a fictionalized Wagner depicts a Buddhist in Big Sur who finds enlightenment after his child's tragic suicide. "Second Guru" follows Queenie, an aging free spirit, as she returns to India to complete her spiritual journey. These interwoven tales, shared by two strangers years apart, vividly capture the chaos of life and the remarkable strength of the human spirit. The Empty Chair offers a deeply moving and meditative experience that challenges and inspires.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR BRUCE WAGNER

"He is a visionary posing as a farceur."Salman Rushdie

If it was the promise of laughter that first drew me to Wagners work, it is his language that has kept me hooked Marveling at his comic and linguistic gifts, at his sheer storytelling verve his ability to handle large ensembles of characters and keep numerous narrative balls in the air while at the same time shooting flames from his mouth and balancing a naked lady on his nose I nevertheless introduce Wagners work to my writing students with a caution: Dont try this at home.Sigrid Nunez

"Bruce Wagner is Hollywoods master of satire."Sam Wasson, author ofThe Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood

"Wagner is the James Joyce whose Dublin is Hollywood."David Cronenberg

"Bruce Wagner writes really wonderfully about that whole milieu [of Hollywood] and its gothic vanity."Emma Cline

Im abigBruce Wagner fan.Father John Misty

"Bruce Wagner's stories about Hollywood are the best I've read since F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West."Terry Southern

"Wagner writes like a wizard. His prose writhes and coruscates."John Updike

Author Bio

Bruce Wagner has written fourteen novels and bestsellers, including the famous "Cellphone Trilogy,"I'm Losing You(PEN USA finalist), I'll Let You GoandStill Holding),Dead Stars, and the PEN/Faulkner-finalistChrysanthemum Palace.He wrote the screenplay for David Cronenberg's filmMaps to the Stars, for which Julianne Moore won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. In 1993, Wagner wrote and created the visionary mini-seriesWild Palmsfor producer Oliver Stone. He has written essays and articles for the New York Times, Artforum and the New Yorker. He lives in Los Angeles.