BY AMARI B. HARRISON
George Harrar’s latest book “The Other Side of Silence” is launching this month. It is a collection of new and previously published short stories. “All 15 stories are very character driven. The book is organized in three parts. The first section includes traditional stories, with a clear beginning, middle and end,” Harrar, Wayland resident, explains. “The second part is more contemporary. The third is a historical novella set in 1933.”
Harrar said the book’s title was inspired by George Eliots’s quote in her novel “Middlemarch:” “If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heartbeat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”
A writer’s life is spent in the practice of “keen vision and feeling,” which Harrar has known since he was a boy. After breaking his collarbone playing football at the age of 12, he discovered writing while housebound. He developed his passion at New York University and later became a sportswriter in the suburbs of Philadelphia. While focusing on local athletes in Pennsylvania and later Massachusetts, where he became the Sports Editor for the MetroWest Daily News, Harrar realized he was drawn to explore human nature through fiction writing.
By that time, Harrar and his wife had settled in north Wayland, where they have lived for 40 years. He recalls how people and places around Wayland have inspired his work. When his wife, Linda, was working at GBH in Boston, Harrar often took the commuter rail from Lincoln to meet her for lunch. He saw the same people getting on and off the train and found himself imagining chance encounters among them. Those ideas evolved into “The 5:22,” his Carson McCullers prize-winning story that was selected for “Best American Short Stories, 1999.”
In 2003, Harrar published a novel for young adults called “Not as Crazy as I Seem.” While writing the book, he met with English students at Wayland High School and asked for their input. Harrar found their heartfelt reactions gratifying and helpful.
Harrar is perhaps best known for his novel “The Spinning Man” which was inspired by a tragic Massachusetts news story in 2000. Harrar remembers hearing about a white car seen near the location of Molly Bish’s disappearance. He wondered who was driving that car and why they would have been there. Eventually, the character profile he imagined turned into Evan Birch, the protagonist of “The Spinning Man.”
“Spinning Man” was a highlight of Harrar’s career. With pride, he remembers The New York Times Book Review’s description: “elegant and unnerving.” A Hollywood producer bought the rights and developed a screenplay right away, which was exciting. Harrar wrote an initial draft of the screenplay, but the project was in limbo for over a decade until another producer picked it up. The movie which was released in 2018 stars Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan, and Minnie Driver. While most viewers agree the book was better, Harrar recalls the whole experience fondly. “My wife and I flew out to L.A. to see two days of filming on set with Guy Pearce and Minnie Driver,” which was fun for them. He is also glad the movie stayed true to the tone of his novel, despite its many changes.
Curious about other local inspiration in Harrar’s writing? Interested readers can find a complete list of Harrar’s stories and books on his website at www.georgeharrarbooks.com.
