Intrusions

I am a writer. I am a mother of two young boys. I am trying to be both in my life right now - and no one has ever captured what it means to try to marry these two things into a life as Ms. Hegi has in this book!! I have actually found myself highlighting passages (I never do that in a novel) and reading parts out loud to my husband as a way to help him understand what my life feels like at times. My children intrude on my writing time. My characters intrude on my family (and sleeping!) time. I can get so turned around over the course of a day that I dont know what I am doing or what still needs to be done. Ms. Hegi has given me an opportunity to look at the craziness of my life with beauty and wonder. Now if only I could remember where I left my brain....

This being my 5th Ursula Hegi book, I'm a bit biased. Ironically,it was the first I purchased. Having read one chapter of this book I realized I liked the author's thought process and went out and bought her earlier works. Then I read them first. Odd, but there it is.MANY VOICES:This is a most unusual book. Not so much in the sense that the author addresses the reader and discusses plot lines and possiblities but that she also chronicles the "intrusions" of her own life into the writing process. As a Mom of teenagers, I remember the days of being thankful to go to work to eat lunch in peace. This is why young moms eat alone when given the opporturnity... But, I digress. Needless to say it is very much as story about Moms with young children trying to remember who they were before the kids. YOU GET CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FROM ALL DIRECTIONS:Not only do you get character development for the characters by Ms. Hegi, the characters pitch in as well. It is an interesting dialogue when a character is arguing for his personality and winning. I found this unique book treatment and the lessons within it captivating. Anyone who has pondered their motivations and who they are can empathize with not only the characters in this book, but the author herself.IF THIS WERE A MOVIE:If this book were to be made into a movie, it would remind you of many of the situation dramas where multiple story lines intersect. However, this book has alternative story lines as well and even would-be pushy alternative writers!BRAVO ONCE AGAIN TO MS. HEGI:You have a convert. If you will write it, I will read it. Once again, she fills the pages with the information we all can relate to, wonder about and notice in the corner of our mind. A truly inspired book about an ordinary life.

The late and very great Erma Bombeck once compared the process of writing to being pregnant: one is "with book" in the same way that one is "with child." Anyone who has done any sort of serious writing of fiction more than 10 pages long will know this feeling. Stories about the writing process and books on how to write better are abundant (even as an elementary school teacher, I was required to take a course in which we intensely studied the whole process and history of writing from Plato to Derrida). No one is arguing that there isn't enough to read, but of the books written, especially fiction, rarely is there a glimpse of the whole world that goes on behind the writing itself.Enter "Intrusions", a truly remarkable novel where we get into EVERYONE'S head, including the author's. "Intrusions" begins almost immediately with the unabashed acknowledgement that you (the person reading the book) is reading the book. That is, from the very beginning the author establishes early on that this is a book and the main character is a woman named Megan. The author is writing the book as it unfolds, NOW, with life going on around her all the time. Her children (the author's, not Megan's) interrupt her at her typewriter demanding attention, lunch, Popsicles, trips to the playground, etc. Megan's children similarly intrude upon HER, demanding her time, her attention. Megan's husband has his own set of demands as well, mostly advice on what he should wear to work and what he wants for breakfast (Megan is not a big on fixing breakfast). Against this background of characters she's created who have their own lives unfolding we also see the author's unfold.Soon, author and characters begin intruding on each other and each other's lives: one day the author (who is not identified and therefore might be Hegi or might be another character she's invented) strikes up a conversation with Megan. Megan, like so many female characters, has lived a sheltered life, and is beginning to think that there is more to life than what she's been getting. This leads the author into the first of a series of fascinating arguments/conversations with her own characters.Soon, the author and her characters are with each other all the time, even when the author tries to leave them be. Megan's husband intermittently appears to the author demanding different treatment of Megan, rewrites of his chapters, nips and tucks in the plot. All the while the author is dealing with the very real intrusions of her own children, husband and life as well as the guilt-laden intrusions of her characters who want both for the author to give them autonomy and to script their lives in a favorable way. For readers who are used to an even flow of text and plot, this book may seem chaotic, choppy or even poorly written-- the chapters are often short, everyone's talking to each other, and most of us are not used to authors who freely talk to their characters *in the

After reading "Stones from the River", I knew I had found another platinum author. I immediately knew that I had to read everything Hegi's written. When I picked up this book, I knew it was going to be good... but I really didn't think it would be THIS GOOD!!! Not only does Hegi create a new genre of literature with this masterpiece, but INTRUSIONS is written in a way that virtually kills any attempts to expand on this writing style. In other words, this novel is a genre in itself. I can't say how good this book is. It is so freaking easy to read! Anybody who can read will enjoy this book. I read it in 3 days. BRILLIANT!!!

It has been said that art often imitates life. For a writer, the difference between the two is a fine line of creativity, one that is often crossed without even realizing it. In Ursula Hegi's book INTRUSIONS, Hegi writes about the struggles of writing a novel while being invaded by the thoughts and opinions of the very characters she is trying to create. There is a grown man riding in Hegi's shopping cart, freezing beneath frozen vegetables as he demands a re-write of his character. A soggy, distressed woman sits in a tub for three weeks while Hegi tries to come up with ideas over what to do with her next. An old professor demands hot and torrid sex of Hegi's characters, attempting to turn even the most delicate of chapters into lewd pornographic pulp. This melting of reality into fiction has resulted in a fast reading, well written novel that will strike a familiar chord with writers everywhere. Since this is one of the first books Ursula Hegi wrote, it may be difficult to find. But keep looking. Just like Hegi's best selling novel STONES FROM THE RIVER, this book is well worth the search.