The Empty Chair - by Bruce Wagner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

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 Wagner's 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 Wagner's work to my writing students with a caution: Don't try this at home." --Sigrid Nunez

"Bruce Wagner is Hollywood's master of satire."--Sam Wasson, author of The 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

"I'm a big Bruce 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

About the Author

Bruce Wagner has written fourteen novels and bestsellers, including the famous "Cellphone Trilogy," I'm Losing You (PEN USA finalist), I'll Let You Go and Still Holding), Dead Stars, and the PEN/Faulkner-finalist Chrysanthemum Palace. He wrote the screenplay for David Cronenberg's film Maps 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-series Wild Palms for producer Oliver Stone. He has written essays and articles for the New York Times, Artforum and the New Yorker. He lives in Los Angeles.