My Mentor: A Young Man's Friendship with William Maxwell

by Alec Wilkinson

At twenty-four, Alec Wilkinson decided that he wanted to write, so his father asked for the help of his closest friend, William Maxwell, widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's great American writers and an editor of fiction for forty years at The New Yorker. MY MENTOR is the story of a young man's education at the hands of a master and a heartbreaking meditation on the brave, graceful end of Maxwell's long and happy life - he died at ninety-one, in July 2000. Making use of biography, memoir, and essay, and writing in a lapidary but intimate voice, Wilkinson explores the deeply resonant friendship between the old man and the young one. His experience with Maxwell over the course of twenty-five years he takes as the occasion for a profound and moving reflection on writing, wisdom, fatherhood, love, courage, dignity, and the end that awaits us all.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mohammad حکمت · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books is about one of my favorite authors so things can hardly go wrong but the best parts of the book were direct quotes from Maxwell himself. In the end, the book actually managed to show the genius of William Maxwell, as intended. Alec Wilkinson is an accomplished writer in his own right but the contrast between his writing and what was directly quoted from Maxwell's work only accentuated Maxwell's uncanny depth of thought and mastery of language.

There is a passage in the book from Maxwell describing a day when he was watching through binoculars a gardener mowing grass, which then morphs into his musing on how the senses work together. Lovely piece!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an affecting record of Wilkinson's relationship with the wonderful William Maxwell, but seemed to meander a bit. Also didn't deliver on what I took to be its promise to get inside of their very close editorial relationship: I wanted to hear a great deal more about how, precisely, Maxwell helped his writing.

[Laura Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book about writing and writers, which is not an easy thing to write about well. I love William Maxwell and this portrait of him gave me new insights into the man and his work and his capacity for friendship.

[David Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

About halfway through Alec Wilkinson’s MY MENTOR: A YOUNG MAN’S FRIENDSHIP WITH WILLIAM MAXWELL, I was ready to dismiss it as an opportunistic effort. At least a third of what I’d read had been quotations from Maxwell’s writing, as if that had helped Wilkinson, with little of his own to contribute, to amass a manuscript.

Then something clicked, and the rare relationship between the young man and the elder one began to come clear and shine, so that by the end of the book I was deeply moved.

This brief memoir is well worth a reader’s time, if only for the quotes from the legendary author and editor Maxwell. At one point young Wilkinson shows Maxwell a manuscript. When Maxwell comes to an overwrought passage, he asks Wilkinson what it’s supposed to mean. Wilkinson explains, and Maxwell tells him to write that down, just like that, that it’s what he intended to say.

[Olga Vannucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

The father you get to select
Is the one that will suit you the best.

[Vincent DiGirolamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that rewarded a slow second reading. The flawless sentences, the gentle yet compelling tone, the enviable relationship it portrays, and its insights about fathers and surrogate fathers. How do we learn to be men, writers, fathers, husbands? Must always be careful. Young people may be paying attention. The parting scenes at the end of the book tell it like it is, having lost my father recently. Time now to read one of Maxwell's novels so the mentoring that Wilkinson shares can continue, and also for the sure pleasure of the reading.

[Unbridled · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice. Touching and light. Maxwell was a very good man.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman]

First Edition, 2002, Houghton Mifflin Company, Cloth
Second Hand Prose: $22.00 (3.00)
Author: American