Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction (1997)

by Charles Baxter

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"Lately I've been possessed of a singularly unhappy idea: the greatest influence on American fiction for the last twenty years may have been Richard Nixon." What happens to American fiction in a time when villains are deprived of their villainy; when our consumer culture insists on happy endings? Did Richard Nixon start a trend of dysfunctional narration that is now rife throughout fiction? In Burning Down the House, Baxter delves into the social and political circumstances that influence today's "urgent issues of storytelling." Baxter invites unexpected connections: between gossip and characterization; between Puritanism, consumerism, and epiphanies; between violence and data processing. By asking readers to "explore the imagination's grip on daily life and how one lives in the pressure of that grip," Baxter offers a unique perspective into the reading and writing of contemporary fiction.--Front cover flap.… (more)

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The best book of essays on the art and craft of fiction I've read. I expect to read it again. Smart and engaging on the highest level. (

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Carrie_Etter | Nov 28, 2020 |

In "Burning Down the House" Charles Baxter offers some insightful essays, not so much on the craft of writing directly as the quotes on the back of the back would have you believe, but a nuanced look at different aspects in writing from stillness to double voicing to epiphanies. I found Baxter's wit and clear understanding of the written word engaging and thought provoking. If you're looking for a strictly how-to craft of writing book this isn't it but it's well worth reading to deepen your understanding of literature and gain a new appreciation for Donald Barthelme. (

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b.masonjudy | Apr 3, 2020 |

It isn't often I read a book of essays that change my life. I can think of a handful: Benjamin's Illuminations, Kracauer's Theory of Film, Buber's I and Thou... and now this, a selection of work about the nature and practice of writing that, having read, I am now signed on to re-read every so often from now... on.

I was particularly struck by the opening piece on dysfunctional narratives. Has there ever been a more appropriate time to read an essay on the damaging effects of victimless rhetoric? Arguments like the ones Baxter makes in this essay do more than just enlighten various aspects of the craft of writing, they underscore its importance. A point I have so easily forgotten working alone before a blank page. (

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Adrian_Astur_Alvarez | Dec 3, 2019 |

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Adrian_Astur_Alvarez | Dec 3, 2019 |

A thought-provoking and surprisingly readable collection of essays on the craft of writing. (

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annemlanderson | Mar 31, 2013 |

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1997

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"Lately I've been possessed of a singularly unhappy idea: the greatest influence on American fiction for the last twenty years may have been Richard Nixon." What happens to American fiction in a time when villains are deprived of their villainy; when our consumer culture insists on happy endings? Did Richard Nixon start a trend of dysfunctional narration that is now rife throughout fiction? In Burning Down the House, Baxter delves into the social and political circumstances that influence today's "urgent issues of storytelling." Baxter invites unexpected connections: between gossip and characterization; between Puritanism, consumerism, and epiphanies; between violence and data processing. By asking readers to "explore the imagination's grip on daily life and how one lives in the pressure of that grip," Baxter offers a unique perspective into the reading and writing of contemporary fiction.--Front cover flap.

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