About the Book
Based on the life of the great short-story writer Raymond Carver, particularly his last ten, postalcoholic years, Scissors is that rare thing: a funny, compassionate, and convincing portrayal of the creative life--its compulsions, its rewards, its frustrations, its affinities with tragedy.
Raymond is a writer whose life is fraught with personal and creative struggle. His first marriage, to Marianne, is intense, passionate, and unhealthy. After his divorce, he finds new love and support with Joanne, a poet. All the while Raymond (and to some extent, each of his wives) is in an escalating conflict with his editor, Douglas, who both assists and distorts Raymond's work. As his success and confidence grow, Raymond strives harder and harder to ensure that his stories, the most important part of his life, are published as written. Douglas, who considers the stories as much his as Raymond's, is determined to present them in the heavily edited form he's given them. Four of Raymond's stories, given in full at four different points in the novel, reflect his life, his relationships, and the creative process itself; and then Douglas goes to work on them. Raymond's former alcoholism and his past and present relationships always lurk in the background, Marianne and Joanne offer their own perspectives on both, and in the end, after Raymond's death, Joanne finally confronts Douglas in a way that Raymond never could.
About the Author :
Stéphane 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, radio plays, and several novels.
John Cullen (1942-2021)is the translator of many books from Spanish, French, German, and Italian, including Siegfried Lenz's The Turncoat, Juli Zeh's Empty Hearts, Patrick Modiano's Villa Triste, Kamel Daoud's The Meursault Investigation, and Philippe Claudel's Brodeck. Coming soon... Sean Pratt has been a working professional actor in theater, film, television, and voice-overs for more than thirty years. He has narrated over one thousand audiobooks and won numerous Earphones Awards and Audie Award nominations. He holds a BFA degree in acting from Santa Fe University, New Mexico.
Kathe Mazur, actress in film, theater, and television, has won several Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration.
Scott Brick has won more than sixty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several prestigious Audie Awards and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.
Hillary Huber, a Los Angeles-based voice talent, in 2025 was named a Golden Voice, AudioFile magazine's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. She has won Voice Arts Awards and more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration. She has with hundreds of commercials and promos under her belt. She has a BA degree in English Literature.
Review :
"Loosely based on the life of Raymond Carver, this book is more than a love triangle--it's a love polygon?--of a writer, his work, his editor, his significant other, and alcohol...Daring and impressive."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Stéphane Michaka performs the prodigious feat of intertwining four biographies to produce a powerful reflection on literature itself."
-- "Le Monde"
"Told from multiple viewpoints and including four of Ray's stories, Scissors is a detailed and intimate exploration of one man's life. Based on the life of Raymond Carver, Michaka's version 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. Stéphane 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"
