Brian Hall (author)
Encyclopedia
Brian Hall is an American author. Son of Louis Alton Hall and Peggy Smith Hall, he grew up in Lexington
, Massachusetts
. He attended Harvard University
from 1977 to 1981, graduating summa cum laude with an A.B. in English Literature.
From 1982 to 1984, Hall bicycled through western and eastern Europe
, camping out most of the time. Based on his experiences in Eastern Europe, Hall wrote his first book, Stealing From a Deep Place (published by Hill and Wang, 1988), which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
His first novel, The Dreamers (Harper and Row, 1989), tells the story of an American graduate student studying the Anschluss
in Vienna
, who gets into a rather tortured affair with an Austrian woman and her young, fatherless son.
Hall’s other novels include The Saskiad (Houghton-Mifflin, 1997); I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company (Viking, 2003); and Fall of Frost (Viking, 2008). The Saskiad, a coming-of-age novel about a precocious and imaginative young girl, has been translated into 12 languages. I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company was named one of the best novels of the year by the Boston Globe, Salon Magazine, the Los Angeles Times
, and The Christian Science Monitor
. Fall of Frost was named one of the best novels of the year by the Boston Globe and the Washington Post.
Additional nonfiction works by Hall include: The Impossible Country: A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia (Godine, 1994) and Madeleine’s World: A Biography of a Three-Year-Old (Houghton-Mifflin, 1997). For The Impossible Country, Hall learned Serbo-Croatian
, and traveled several times to Yugoslavia
over a three-year period, from 1989-1991. Madeleine’s World is a novelist's take on the ideas of Jean Piaget
, the Swiss developmental psychologist who based many of his theories on observations of his own children. Hall, by watching his own daughter’s development over three years, wrote a book speculating on what the growth of human consciousness might look like from the inside.
He has written for publications such as the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker
, though since 1997, he has dedicated himself exclusively to writing his own books.
Hall lives in Ithaca
, New York
with his wife and two children. In addition to being an author, he is also an amateur pianist and cellist.
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
from 1977 to 1981, graduating summa cum laude with an A.B. in English Literature.
From 1982 to 1984, Hall bicycled through western and eastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, camping out most of the time. Based on his experiences in Eastern Europe, Hall wrote his first book, Stealing From a Deep Place (published by Hill and Wang, 1988), which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
His first novel, The Dreamers (Harper and Row, 1989), tells the story of an American graduate student studying the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, who gets into a rather tortured affair with an Austrian woman and her young, fatherless son.
Hall’s other novels include The Saskiad (Houghton-Mifflin, 1997); I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company (Viking, 2003); and Fall of Frost (Viking, 2008). The Saskiad, a coming-of-age novel about a precocious and imaginative young girl, has been translated into 12 languages. I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company was named one of the best novels of the year by the Boston Globe, Salon Magazine, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
. Fall of Frost was named one of the best novels of the year by the Boston Globe and the Washington Post.
Additional nonfiction works by Hall include: The Impossible Country: A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia (Godine, 1994) and Madeleine’s World: A Biography of a Three-Year-Old (Houghton-Mifflin, 1997). For The Impossible Country, Hall learned Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
, and traveled several times to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
over a three-year period, from 1989-1991. Madeleine’s World is a novelist's take on the ideas of Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology"....
, the Swiss developmental psychologist who based many of his theories on observations of his own children. Hall, by watching his own daughter’s development over three years, wrote a book speculating on what the growth of human consciousness might look like from the inside.
He has written for publications such as the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, though since 1997, he has dedicated himself exclusively to writing his own books.
Hall lives in Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his wife and two children. In addition to being an author, he is also an amateur pianist and cellist.