Friday, June 20, 2008

Julie Hecht

In the May issue of The Believer magazine I read an interview with Julie Hecht, a writer I had never heard of before then. It was an intriguing interview - she was smart, funny, odd and not overly in love with the modern world. I decided I liked her and added her to my list of people I wished were my friends. Then I ordered two of her books online: her first book of short stories, Do the Windows Open? and her novel, The Unprofessionals. She has also written a book about Andy Kaufman and has just released her second book of short stories, Happy Trails to You (which I am having a hard time finding). The books arrived and I devoured them. I wish I could think of someone to compare her to because she's tough to describe. The stories in Do the Windows Open? are linked, as they are told in the first person by the same unnamed narrator. A woman in her forties who is a photographer. Though that hardly matters. These are rambling, delicious, funny stories about modern life. Actually, I've never come across anything in print that sounds so much like the voice inside my own head. If you, like me, are alarmed by the lack of manners, intelligence, beauty and clothing you encounter every time you leave the protective shell of your book-lined abode, then Julie Hecht may be a writer you enjoy.

The Unprofessionals, her novel, is told by the same narrator as Do the Windows Open? and also has a character from that collection, but this is a darker book. This time the story centers on the friendship between the photographer, now in her late forties, and a young man she has known since he was a boy. They share a dismay about the way the modern world is. Both get through the day with the help of drugs: prescription in the case of the narrator, heroin in the case of the young man. It's a funny, sad, profound book. Julie Hecht is a unique, and I think, brilliant writer. I will definitely keep searching for her new book.

First line from The Unprofessionals by Julie Hecht: It was the second month of living without a soul and I was getting used to the feeling.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Happy Trails to You ... there are several on Abebooks.com and it is on Amazon.ca as well.

She sounds very worthy and her name is now on my seemingly endless list of writers to check.

firstlinefiction said...

Thanks! I'm sure I'll track down a copy somewhere.

Bybee said...

Her name sounds so familiar, and I can't dredge up why, but she's on my bookworm radar now. Thanks!

firstlinefiction said...

Bybee - Julie Hecht had several short stories published in The New Yorker from the late 80s to sometime in the 90s. Maybe you read something by her there?

SFP said...

Oh, happy day! A fellow Julie Hecht fan. I intend to read Was This Man a Genius? this weekend and then I will have read everything she's published, including the two Harpers short stories published back in 1978--one's about her infatuation with Elvis. If you haven't and you can't easily get your hands on those, let me know and I'll send you copies.

Did you catch that the Believer interviewer and the interviewer in the Happy Trails to You story were both from Texas? I wonder how much fictionalizing went on in her story. . .

Susan

firstlinefiction said...

Wow Susan! I would totally love those short stories from Harper's. I still haven't managed to find a copy of Happy Trails to You. I look in every bookstore I go into here in Toronto, I think I may have to order it from Abebooks. Thanks so much for stopping by.

SFP said...

Send me an email with your address and I'll get them out to you next week. :)

Now I'm off to explore your archives to find out what else we have in common. . .

Robin Graham said...
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Colleen said...

I'm re-reading Do The Windows Open for like the tenth time right now and thought I'd search online for more information about Julie. Didn't realize she is so reclusive, but it kind of makes sense given her writing. I feel like she sounds like the voice in my head like you do. I remember the first time I read that book I immediately write a three page letter to her (which I didn't end up sending). Thanks for this post, I'll check out interviews.