“I’m 38; I have to write a dozen more books before I die.” So declared Ethan Canin, the author of the newly released novel For Kings and Planets, at Book People September 25. This ultimate deadline is the one Mr. Canin has established for himself now that he has recognized his rhythm: It’s three-and-a-half years productive, one year fallow. That sense of ever-present yet not immediate panic precisely reflects Canin’s mindset at his appearance.
While Canin was chatty to the extreme (never once getting around to actually reading from his books) and quick to smile, he nonetheless was frank about his constant sense of impending disaster. This sort of self-obsessed fatalism can be alienating and appalling (i.e., Woody Allen) or funny and recognizable (i.e.,Woody Allen). As for Canin, it’s the latter, at least in person. In his novel, however, the self-involvement of his charismatic character Marshall Emerson wears on the reader long before the steady protagonist Orno Tarcher (now there’s a name) begins to be disillusioned. I found Emerson’s reckless sophistication absolutely intoxicating, particularly when seen through the eyes of rock-solid Midwesterner Orno. After all, even the most self-conscious Mr. Normal would grow tired of Emerson’s “I feel things more deeply than others” routine after years of that spiel. In person, though, Canin expressed as much interest in the people who came to see and hear him as in himself.
And come they did. The admittedly small space on the second floor was cramped with writers, former students, and fans lobbing questions at Canin. Frequently, the writer turned the question back to the questioner, asking what they did in said situation. And he meant it: He wanted to know. He was generous in sharing his techniques and his knowledge. Canin’s focus is on character; as he says, the most intersting question in the world is, “How did your life turn out?” You gotta wonder about a guy who got an engineering degree from Stanford, a medical degree from Harvard, then chucked it all to become a successful writer: How is his life gonna turn out?
— Barbara Chisholm
This article appears in October 2 • 1998 and October 2 • 1998 (Cover).