What can we learn about an author from his or her fiction? This is an old, old question, I know. But I still can’t help thinking about it when I read a book.

John Updike‘s stories are full of male characters whom women find irresistibly attractive. I can only assume that this reflects Updike’s own experiences, to some extent. If he had not been, in reality, catnip to women, I imagine he’d have made more of a big deal about the episodes in his books where women kept falling into his protagonists’ laps.

Same for John D. Macdonald, although there I suppose it’s possible he was just throwing in the sex to sell books.

And even more so for Richard Ford. This guy’s male characters are so smooth, there’s no way that Ford isn’t/wasn’t like that too.

What about Lorrie Moore? I think she must have had a very frustrating life (so far). I say this because her stories always seem to be centered around a female character who is witty, thoughtful, and refined, and surrounded by really piggy guys.

And I can only assume that Franz Kafka had some frustrating experiences in his life as well.

Other writers seem tougher to characterize. For example, Jane Smiley’s characters are all over the place, as are J. Robert Lennon‘s. I can’t see how I could draw many conclusions about their personal experiences from their books. Lots and lots of writers are like this: you get a sense of their sensibilities but not really of their experiences. Maybe that’s why cases such as John Updike and Lorrie Moore are so interesting, that they seem to be revealing, perhaps unintentionally, bits of themselves?