How Fiction Works. Shipping cost, delivery date and order total (including tax) shown at checkout. Concise and masterfully distilled take on novel as an art form. How Fiction Works is being billed as his first full-length piece of criticism. How Fiction Works This edition was published in July 22, 2008 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. The pleasure in this book lies in watching Wood read.”--Time, “An articulate reminder of the framework that is essential to constructing a lasting work of the imagination.”--The Miami Herald, “Wood is among the few contemporary writers of great consequence.... Reading Wood, no matter the book under review, provides enormous pleasure.”--Los Angeles Times “A fiercely committed critic and consummate stylist.”--John Banville, The New York Review of Books, “A perceptive and graceful essay which almost anybody who’s interested in books could read... Well worth reading.”--The Sunday Times (UK). In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a study of the main elements of fiction, such as narrative, detail, characterization, dialogue, realism, and style. That is to say, in charting realism’s development, Wood revisits many subjects from his two previous books of essays, The Broken Estate and The Irresponsible Self . As one who aspires some day to attempt some fiction writing, I think this is one study I will be coming back to as a resource. I agreed with lots of points and disagreed with others but he includes good examples to back up his arguments, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2018. Book Review of James Wood's How Fiction Works by Nigel Beale, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2019. In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. These are some of the questions James Wood answers in How Fiction Works, the first book-length essay by the preeminent critic of his generation. Works of science fiction use the ideas and the vocabulary of all sciences to create valid narratives that explore the future effects of science on events and human beings. And that is it. Hence the course is more useful to readers like myself than writers. “How Fiction Works” requires at least a familiarity with the “major” Western texts – an ability to differentiate between Stendhal and Flaubert, Dafoe and James, Dostoevsky and Nabokov. JAMES WOOD is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a visiting lecturer at Harvard. Please try again. Find all the books, read about the author and more. He is the author of two essay collections, The Broken Estate and The Irresponsible Self, and a novel, The Book Against God. Very fun, informative, and well-written book. Account & Lists Account Returns & … [{"displayPrice":"CDN$ 18.12","priceAmount":18.12,"currencySymbol":"CDN$","integerValue":"18","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"12","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":true,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"i9dYTsWMI1H06H%2FMZVE6sbOU5d0ZQKEjCqp3b%2B2hb3oOjmnP9bTlyG2MnWYDXbmlJuxEpRsDjEqGcJ0IAtvjLCu%2BdT3xv6eRo%2B0eDh6mRgIyeyUBXbh0JoU3%2BAqi1UFXLXcLLjKukQhjyjyH%2FpKR9yxBEeoQOuj9w2VnYX1uf46PjWXbsCD8sGqdbeZjmZZF","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]. Skip to main content.ca Hello, Sign in. How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction—an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. How Fiction Works: Hall, Oakley: 9781582972930: Books - Amazon.ca. How Fiction Works (Paperback) : Wood, James : In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel , How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. An Import Fees Deposit may apply at checkout. Something went wrong. In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a study of the main elements of fiction, such as narrative, detail, characterization, dialogue, realism, and style. To call James Wood the finest literary critic writing in English today, as is … In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2019. score: 14 of 92 (15%) required scores: 1, 5, 9, 14, 22 list stats leaders vote Vote print comments. Sunday 03 February 2008 01:00. comments. + CDN$ 5.81 Shipping. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. What constitutes a telling detail? Article bookmarked. No_Favorite. But he gets it across in an unstuffy, clearsighted way that I found to be most excellent. Amazon.ca is a trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a study of the main elements of fiction, such as narrative, detail, characterization, dialogue, realism, and style. The title attracted my attention: I know what I like when I read it, but I don't always stop to analyse how it works, or even why. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA products qualify for FREE Shipping. Books. Ranging widely--from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings--Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of … 1-Click ordering is not available for this item. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. In the tradition of E. M. Forster's "Aspects of the Novel" and Milan Kundera's "The Art of the Novel", "How Fiction Works" is a scintillating and searching study of the main elements of fiction, such as narrative, detail, characterization, dialogue, realism, and style. Hello Select your address Books Hello, Sign in. Usually technical books like this are laborious and workman-like but this the voice of this author is easy to listen to as he uses well composed phrases to teach the reader about well composed phrases. How Fiction Works, By James Wood An Olympian critic points out where major-league talents are getting it wrong. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. `The house of fiction has many windows but only two or three doors.'. How Fiction Works is largely an outgrowth of Wood’s experience teaching at Harvard, where he’s been since 2003 and is now Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism. Edition Description. I agreed with lots of points and disagreed with others but he includes good examples to back up his arguments. How Fiction Works is a fascinating theoretical book that should be read by anyone interesting in literature, linguistics and the foundations underlying creative writing itself. share. Unable to add item to Wish List. Skip to main content.ca. How Fiction Works (Tenth Anniversary Edition): Updated and Expanded in Literature and Fiction pdf books How Fiction Works (Tenth Anniversary Edition): Updated and Expanded He forgives easily, has immense untapped powers he's just beginning to understand, and, of course, fantastic sexual stamina. How fiction works Item Preview > remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. The house of fiction has many windows, but only two or three doors. 695 views made by Jonas Holger Hansen. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. No Kindle device required. Lectures on Great Science Fiction Works - How to Write Fiction I'd been reading Martin Amis and the rest for a long time before I even heard of him. Woods cites passages from the Western Canon, including Dostoevsky, Faulkner, Flaubert, Joyce, Kafka, Mann, Saramago, and Woolf, among many others, to get to the essence of narration, character, plot, detail, and dialogue. In the tradition of E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera’s The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction–an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item tags) Want more? Never pretentious, down to concrete examples anyone can enjoy with a multitude of “yes!” and “aha!” it walks through (one narrative of) the history of the novel in a way that leaves something to find for anyone. James Wood. I gained from the course a much better understanding of what is science fiction is about from its earliest beginnings to now. Wood is humane, perceptive, not interested in gleeful hatchet-jobs on the second-rate or pointless discussions of private life. These are some of the questions James Wood answers in How Fiction Works, the first book-length essay by the preeminent critic of his generation. I was a little worried more than once that this book would spoil some of the pure joy of reading good fiction for me, making me think, as it most certainly will, about the way fiction is crafted and about its technicalities and mechanics. How Fiction Works: The Last Word on Writing Fiction--From Basics to the Fine Points. This was a very interesting and insightful book about exactly what the title says: how fiction works. An elegant little book by famed critic and New Yorker writer, James Woods, exploring the art of writing fiction, and writing well. It says so much that I came to Jame Wood so late. How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction―an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. 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? A rocking journey through novel analysis in an entertaining way, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2020. Ranging widely--from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings--Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step.--From publisher description. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. Advice on all forms of fiction, including short stories, short-short stories and novellas, covering every fictive technique, from plot and characterization to word choice, voice and style. Prime Cart. Ranging widely—from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings—Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. These are some of the questions James Wood answers in How Fiction Works, the first book-length essay by the preeminent critic of his generation. I can tell a story in the third person or in the first person, and perhaps in the second person singular, or in the first person plural, though successful examples of these latter two are rare indeed. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Read this in preparation for my MA in Creative Writing. (It's so much easier to talk about Hemingway's hunting trips than it is to talk about which books are actually worth reading, and why. James Wood ranges widely, from Homer to Make Way for Ducklings, 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. Rated 4 out of 5 by GVC1 from Great Review of Science Fiction I agree with other reviewers that the course is misnamed , more a review of history of science fiction than guide to how it works. 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? © 2008-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Why do some literary conventions become dated while others stay fresh? How Fiction Works (Book) : Wood, James : In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. James Wood, Professor, Writer and Critic. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Also intriguing was the discussion of detail as well as that on dialogue. In the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, How Fiction Works is a scintillating study of the magic of fiction--an analysis of its main elements and a celebration of its lasting power. Learn more about the program. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers, How Fiction Works (Tenth Anniversary Edition): Updated and Expanded. Please try your request again later. Science Fact and Science Fiction examines in one volume how science has propelled science-fiction and, to a lesser extent, how science fiction has influenced the sciences. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. All rights reserved. EMBED. When is a metaphor successful? Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2018. How Fiction Works: 9781607516101: Books - Amazon.ca. I found the author's discussion of the voice of the narrator, character, consciousness, and truth/convention/realism to be particularly enlightening. James Wood draws references from many different books and breaks everything down to varying levels of analysis to have a look at what makes fiction fiction. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Buy How Fiction Works by online on Amazon.ae at best prices. In his first full-length book of criticism, one of the most prominent critics of our time takes the machinery of story-telling apart to ask a series of fundamental questions. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages that interest you. 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 … Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. 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? Try. "How Fiction Works" is a provocative and accessible musing for writers and readers of prose--and it offers excellent insights whether the interest is fiction or nonfiction. Playful and profound, How Fiction Works will be enlightening to writers, readers, and anyone else interested in what happens on the page. In his first full-length book of criticism, one of the most prominent critics of our time takes the machinery of story-telling apart to ask a series of fundamental questions. If you're a seller, Fulfilment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Is Realism realistic? But I believe that good fiction, I mean really good fiction, will still be a delight and I will now be better equipped to understand why mediocre and bad fiction is just that. These are some of the questions James Wood answers in How Fiction Works, the first book-length essay by the preeminent critic of his generation. Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 288 pp., $24. Ranging widely—from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings—Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. I also wondered, as I made a decision to read, whether a book of less than 300 pages could address this to my satisfaction. Please use a different way to share. Unsurprisingly, Wood knows his stuff. Download one of the Free Kindle apps to start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, and computer. flag. avg. © 2008-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfilment centres, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. How Fiction Works is simultaneously a gloss on the history of what James Wood calls “modern realist narration” and an encapsulation of much of Wood’s criticism to date. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. One of the greatest strengths of this work is that it is well written, not merely useful in content, but really well-crafted prose. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way navigate! Or three doors. ' but only two or three doors. ' read brief content visible, tap! Can help you grow your business use a simple average look here to find an easy way navigate... Others stay fresh Audible audio edition and masterfully distilled take on novel as Art... And a visiting lecturer at Harvard of fiction―an analysis of its lasting power course more... 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