About the Author

STEPHANE MICHAKA was born in Paris in 1974. He studied at Cambridge University and taught French in South Africa before embarking on a writing career. He has written theater pieces, children's books, television scripts, and radio plays. "Scissors" is his third novel.

Reviews

Praise for "Scissors
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"[An] empathetic exploration of an author's soul, his allegiance to his writing above all else, and the increasingly painful submission to his editor that eventually leads to a breaking point ... Like the best literary homages, "Scissors" evokes a craving for the original -- and, in this case, further consideration of the aesthetic questions at the heart of Carver's published work."--NPR
"["Scissors"] takes readers deep into the creative life. Funny, sad, and deeply compassionate, "Scissors" is a unique and engaging novel that ponders life, love, and the importance of believing in ourselves and in our chosen work."--"Booklist
""Whether or not you know anything about Carver and his stories matters little. Stephane Michaka's talent and the attention he brings to each of his characters suffice to rivet the reader to his words. He breathes life into the trio as they revolve around the central figure of the writer, the man without certainties, whose work, although butchered by his editor, has been passed down to posterity.""--Le Figaro
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"Stephane Michaka performs the prodigious feat of intertwining four biographies to produce a powerful reflection on literature itself.""--Le Monde"
"This book is a novel about writing. Stephane Michaka excels in inventing stories that Carver himself could have penned. But this book is also a love story, full of power and inebriation. But also painful, like a hangover, and abiding long after the definitive separation. "Scissors" is at once fascinating and beautiful, engrossing and brilliantly structured ... Reading this novel will immerse you in a haunting, "lived" narrative experience. As Raymond Carver's work does.""--L'Avenir
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"Ambitious and deftly woven, Stephane Michaka's novel is fascinating whether or not you know about Raymond Carver and his editor Gordon Lish. As a stylist whose main concerns are emotions and human frailty, Michaka successfully depicts a writer in his everyday existence. Someone who struggles incessantly with words and with his own doubts. Someone whose texts, imbued with a rare empathy, evoke the shocks and jolts of life and make the real both poignant and poetic.""--Le Journal du Dimanche
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"The book's debts to its famous subjects are repaid. It is a measure of the book's success that readers need no knowledge of its famous subjects to appreciate it. Daring and impressive."--"Kirkus Reviews"

Praise for "Scissors
"
"Whether or not you know anything about Carver and his stories matters little. Stephane Michaka's talent and the attention he brings to each of his characters suffice to rivet the reader to his words. He breathes life into the trio as they revolve around the central figure of the writer, the man without certainties, whose work, although butchered by his editor, has been passed down to posterity.""--Le Figaro
"
"Stephane Michaka performs the prodigious feat of intertwining four biographies to produce a powerful reflection on literature itself.""--Le Monde"

"This book is a novel about writing. Stephane Michaka excels in inventing stories that Carver himself could have penned. But this book is also a love story, full of power and inebriation. But also painful, like a hangover, and abiding long after the definitive separation. "Scissors" is at once fascinating and beautiful, engrossing and brilliantly structured ... Reading this novel will immerse you in a haunting, "lived" narrative experience. As Raymond Carver's work does.""--L'Avenir
"
"Ambitious and deftly woven, Stephane Michaka's novel is fascinating whether or not you know about Raymond Carver and his editor Gordon Lish. As a stylist whose main concerns are emotions and human frailty, Michaka successfully depicts a writer in his everyday existence. Someone who struggles incessantly with words and with his own doubts. Someone whose texts, imbued with a rare empathy, evoke the shocks and jolts of life and make the real both poignant and poetic.""--Le Journal du Dimanche
"
"The book's debts to its famous subjects are repaid. It is a measure of the book's success that readers need no knowledge of its famous subjects to appreciate it. Daring and impressive."--"Kirkus Reviews"