<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p><b>10th anniversary revised edition with new Introduction </b> <p/><b>James Wood's<i> How Fiction Works</i> is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. </b> <p/>Here one of the most prominent and stylish critics of our time looks into the machinery of storytelling to ask some fundamental questions: What do we mean when we say we know a fictional character? What constitutes a telling detail? When is a metaphor successful? Is Realism realistic? Why do some literary conventions become dated while others stay fresh? <p/>James Wood ranges widely, from Homer to <i>Make Way for Ducklings</i>, from the Bible to John le Carré, and his book is both a study of the techniques of fiction-making and an alternative history of the novel. Playful and profound, <i>How Fiction Works</i> will be enlightening to writers, readers, and anyone else interested in what happens on the page.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p><b>A <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> Top 50 Best Nonfiction Book of the Year<br>Named a Best Book of the Year by <i>The Economist</i>, <i>The Kansas City Star</i>, <i>Library Journal</i></b> <p/>" An articulate reminder of the framework that is essential to constructing a lasting work of the<br>imagination." --<i>The Miami Herald</i> <p/>" Wood's arranging of source material to prove his points is as fluid and lovely as any great composer's arrangement of musical notes, and, if nothing else, <i>How Fiction Works</i> will inspire you to simply read more . . . [A] lovely, eloquent ode to reading." --<i>The Oregonian</i> <p/>" This admirable book is, among other things, a successful attempt to replace E. M. Forster's <i>Aspects<br>of the Novel</i> as an accessible guide to the mechanics of fiction. Without losing sight of its promise to address the common reader rather than the specialist, <i>How Fiction Works</i> is much more sophisticated than Forster's book . . . Wood has thought keenly and profitably about such matters. He also benefits, as Forster did not, from wide reading in contemporary fiction." --Frank Kermode, <i>The New Republic</i> <p/>"<i>How Fiction Works</i> should delight and enlighten practicing novelists, would-be novelists, and all passionate readers of fiction . . . Enchanting." --<i>The Economist</i> <p/>"Wood's enthusiasm is glorious . . . A delight . . . The pleasure in this book lies in watching Wood read." --Lev Grossman, <i>Time</i> <p/>"An articulate reminder of the framework that is essential to constructing a lasting work of the imagination." --<i>The Miami Herald</i> <p/>"Wood is among the few contemporary writers of great consequence . . . Reading Wood, no matter the book under review, provides enormous pleasure." --<i>Los Angeles Times</i> <p/>"Highly stimulating stuff--if it doesn't make you hug your bookcase gratefully, you're probably an incorrigible 'formalist-cum-structuralist.' " --<i>Kirkus Reviews</i> <p/>"Through Wood's close, mostly loving, frequently funny, occasionally dizzying examination, our reading experience is amplified and enriched . . . Wood's wit and occasional hilarious commentary are well timed and sizzlingly accurate." --<i>Virginia Quarterly Review</i> <p/>" By examining the minutiae of character, narrative, and style in a range of fictional works that starts with the Bible and ends with Coetzee and Pynchon, he fondly and delicately pieces back together what the deconstructors put asunder." --<i>The Guardian</i> (UK) <p/>"A fiercely committed critic and consummate stylist." --John Banville, <i>The New York Review of Books</i> <p/>"A perceptive and graceful essay which almost anybody who's interested in books could read . . . Well worth reading." --<i>The Sunday Times</i> (UK)</p><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>JAMES WOOD</b> is a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker </i>and a visiting lecturer at Harvard. He is the author of two essay collections, <i>The Broken Estate </i>and <i>The Irresponsible Self</i>, and a novel, <i>The Book Against God</i>.
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