Book Summary and Reviews of The Empty Chair by Bruce Wagner

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Wagner meditates on our fundamental cravings for connections - both human and divine - and meanings - both personal and cosmic - with wit, compassion and a sharp eye for the lies we tell ourselves." - Kirkus

"A powerful, agonizing, and yet meditative work about how suffering and somehow resilient human beings struggle to make sense of the mystery of existence." - Library Journal

"While Wagner's trademark scathing satirical skills are in full force thanks to his sprightly word play and jaundiced observations, his purposeful exploration of the nature and importance of storytelling takes him in a subtly nuanced new direction." - Booklist

"Ultimately a quiet, brooding collection, Wagner's book deftly illustrates how the quest for spirituality and self-realization underscore one's understanding of the purpose of life." - Publishers Weekly

This information about The Empty Chair was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Bruce Wagner Author Biography

Bruce Wagner was born March 15, 1954. In his twenties, Wagner began writing articles for magazines, and writing scripts. His first book, Force Majeure: The Bud Wiggins Stories was self published; the book was well reviewed and led to a publishing deal with Random House.

He has written essays and op-ed pieces for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Art Forum and Vanity Fair, in addition to multiple books. His novel Still Holding was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and The Chrysanthemum Palace was a PEN/Faulkner finalist in 2006

Wagner married actress Rebecca De Mornay in 1986, and the couple divorced in 1990. He married Laura Peterson in 2009, and currently lives in Los Angeles.