The formal renewal proposed by the modernist novelists is … Ayn Rand's "The Art of Fiction" is one of the very best books on writing fiction. Her lessons on style are superlative. The Anatomy of Prose: 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences (Better Writers Series), Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing), Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S. The Art of Fiction is in large measure a rebuttal of the English novelist and critic Walter Besant’s The Art of Fiction (1884), from where James initially took his title, and its insistence on the novel as an ‘Art’ which is ‘governed and directed by general laws’ (Besant 1884: 3). The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Quick, & Magnetic (2nd Edition) (How to More Li... To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. James’s basic aim in this critique was to critically analyze Besant’s thoughts on fiction whilst putting forward what he believed the art and form of fiction to be. The Art of Fiction gives writers (and readers) tools for thinking about how writing is done, and specially how Ms. Rand wrote. Much of Henry James teaching contains his opinions on the nature and purpose of fiction. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. We are experiencing technical difficulties. He insults his reader and various professionals in the literary world throughout the first chapter, uses magnanimous words but takes an eternity to convey a piece of information, IF he even conveys information at all, flip-flops on his opinions, never mentions women unless in the context of wives and war prizes, clearly thinks he's a god of literature -- far greater than someone who authentically enjoys Jack London or "junk" fiction, and gods forbid that you are a science fiction writer or a thiller writer or someone not educated beyond high school because John Gardner thinks you are trash and you'll always be trash. Although, in places, a bit technical, for any writer, not just new writers, for anyone who wants to master their craft, this is a must read book. Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017. This practical, how-to guide reveals the tools that great writers use to craft compelling stories. Gardner’s discussion on what fiction is and what it should or must do is priceless. It is packed full of helpful tips such as point of view, narration, character development, and much, much more. It was written as a rebuttal to “ Fiction as One of the Fine Arts,” a lecture given by Sir Walter Besant in 1884, and is a manifesto of literary realism that decries the popular demand for novels that are saturated with sentimentality or pessimism. This book will help you polish your prose, characters and stories to perfection. I think it was Mark Twain who said “Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” Well John Gardner has obviously never read or heeded Mark Twain ! Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Henry James discusses the intricacies of writing in his piece “The Art of Fiction.” While the main binary in literature is between that of fiction and non-fiction, however James further distinguishes the category of fiction into romance and novel. A much better book is the "Fiction Writers Workshop" by Novakovich. I have always regarded fiction as an essentially rhetaorical art--- that is to say, the novelist or short story -writer persuades us to share a certian view of the world for the duration of the reading experience, effecting, when successful, that rapt immersion in an imagined reality that Van Gogh caught so well in his painting "The Novel Reader." I had to get it for class, but it’s super sexist, anti-genre, and he is just a jerk. A slim, elegant collection of three lectures on the art of fiction, worthless as a guide to writing, but precious beyond rubies as a final testament to James Salter's extraordinary life and career. The Art of Fiction will fascinate anyone interested in how fiction gets put together. John Gardner was accorded wide praise for his works of imagination, of criticism, and of scholarship. A special bonus episode, recorded live at On Air Fest on March 8, 2020 (just before social distancing sent everyone home), featuring a crowded room of lovely human beings enjoying an immersive live performance of The Paris Review Podcast.The show opens with excerpts of Toni Morrison’s 1993 Art of Fiction Interview, scored live by some of the musicians that created the score for Seasons 1 and 2. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. In this entertaining and enlightening collection David Lodge considers the art of fiction under a wide range of headings, drawing on writers as diverse as Henry James, Martin Amis, Jane Austen and James Joyce. Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2020. 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