Hymn

By Huck Fairman

Book Overview

At the end of a cold winter in New York City, Christine Howth, a free- lance journalist, mourns the recent death of her father while mulling over the first year of her divorce. She decides it is time to halt her drift. A first step is to begin a journal, to focus her writing and experiment with styles for a story. A second step is to find a full-time job, as her work is not paying the rent.

A friend informs her of a staff job at a magazine; a former flame suggests she interview movie director David Loomis. The normally private Loomis agrees to a series of interviews and observations. But unexpectedly he unloads a personal secret, one that may jeopardize the film. He requests that she inform no one, and while she readily agrees, she discovers deep into the assignment that her editor has other priorities.

Loomis's struggle to complete the film, and hers to write about it draw them together. His passion for directing stimulates her own efforts to write. Their shared interests and sensibilities bring new energy to both.

The filming takes her to the Adirondacks; her new staff job sends her to Paris; the cabin her father loved calls her up to Maine. Each trip stirs her and helps solidify her new perspective. But pressures arising from Loomis's situation lead to conflict with her editor and separation from him.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1413423523
• ISBN13: 9781413423525
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Xlibris Us
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

the creative life

This multi-layered story explores the boundaries of ethics, relationships and creative pursuits. Using the diary of a writer as a lens through which to view the worlds of journalism and film, Fairman gives us a glimpse of the alchemy that distills human nature into words. To anyone interested in the art and craft of writing, this book is a feast of words, images and ideas.By writing in a journal format, the author affords us access to the writing process as well as the feelings, fears and hopes of our protagonist, Christine. Woven into her diary is the profile she is writing, the story of its subject, the plot of a movie, and her nascent novel. We follow her through a year of transition as she weighs the costs, both financial and emotional, of dedicating her life to her work.It is clear throughout this book that Fairman loves language. He evokes the settings of city and country with a spare but evocative turn of phrase. Each character speaks with a distinct voice and his use of playful alliteration and rhyme imbue Christine's musings with a writer's lilt. Throughout the book there are lyrical passages I found very moving and stand out to me as a romance of words.As an artist myself, I found the depictions of the creative process rang true. The enormous effort of creating something you believe in - be it as painting, writing or film - can overwhelm other aspects of life. If you have ever struggled with finding the balance between personal comittments and creative pursuits, this book will speak to your soul.