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13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley (2005, First Ed.)
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A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. The dust jacket for hard covers may not be included. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing or tearing, minimal pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages.
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Item specifics
- Condition
- Country/Region of Manufacture
- United States
- ISBN
- 9781400040599
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
ISBN-10
1400040590
ISBN-13
9781400040599
eBay Product ID (ePID)
45406185
Product Key Features
Book Title
13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
Number of Pages
608 Pages
Language
English
Topic
General, American / General, Books & Reading
Publication Year
2005
Genre
Literary Criticism
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.9 in
Item Weight
34.9 Oz
Item Length
9.5 in
Item Width
6.6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2005-045181
Reviews
"Smiley's unmediated voiceblunt, uncompromising and wittyrings from every page of her engaging meditationThirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel. A ferocious intelligence and sharp political sensibility are evident in Smiley's fiction, but there her personality is rightly subordinated to the demands of story and character; she is, after all, our foremost contemporary practitioner of the traditional, realistic novel . . . Here, she speaks directly about her beliefs, her emotions and her craft. Casual in tone and idiosyncratic in organization, this study [illuminates] the author's own conception of the novel and how it works . . . Smiley's down-to-earth attitude distinguishes [Thirteen Ways]. She approaches the authors of the [101 novels she discusses] not as timeless geniuses but simply as peersmen and women creating narratives that reflect the issues of their eras. Yet what Smiley keeps coming back to is the fact that those issues, though different in detail, are in essence similar to the ones we grapple with today . . . But if there's one thing she believes, it's that reading fiction broadens our sympathies and stretches our imaginations so we understand that even bad guys have their reasons . . . If all Smiley did was affirm the virtues of empathy and reading in a polarized society increasingly focused on visual stimulation and individual gratification, she would have produced a work that is valuable and thought-provokingthough, perhaps, not a lot of fun. Instead, she inspires wicked delight as she seasons her text with sardonic characterizations and cogent deviations from received wisdom . . . Toward the end of the book, she includes two chapters on writing 'A Novel of Your Own' that are studded with useful information . . . She follows that with 'Good Faith: A Case History,' a fascinating glimpse into the life of a working writer . . . What really lingers [is] this gifted writer's profound faith in 'the power and vitality of that simple and complex object, a long story bound enticingly between the closed covers of a book.'" Los Angeles Times Book Review "Swimming through 1,000 years of novels from all over the globe provides Smiley with enough inspiration and energy to express what she knows and feels and adores about literature . . . Smiley gives us a book that is sometimes a confession, occasionally a diatribe and always a pleasure. [Thirteen Ways] begins as a memoir but becomes an insightful examination of the history and form of the novel. With a mixture of some fabulous research and a vibrant imagination, Smiley traces the development of the novel . . . Smiley is unafraid to be frank [and] she comes up with ideas both unique and awfully smart . . . Reading this one-of-a-kind book may well remind you of sitting in your favorite college course listening to an unforgettable professor forage through a lifetime of adoring novels . . . A massive victory." Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Impressive . . . Among the many things this splendid book accomplishes is to settle the long-standing dispute about whether the novel is dead . . . Not only does Jane Smiley find much solace in the course of contemporary writing, but why would a writer as sensible and intelligent as Smiley devote three years of her life to reading and writing about a moribund art form? . . . . Smiley's opinions are always interesting, but the real strength of the book is her genuine love of the novel, and it is hard to quarrel with her judgment that it remains, despite its many obituaries, a continuing source of power and vitality." The Star-Ledger(New Jersey) "Thorough, insightful . . . With great intellect,, "I have always believed that the world can be divided into two broad categories; English majors and non-English majors. However, as I was reading (and enjoying) Jane Smiley's Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, it occurred to me that there is a sizable third group that ought to be recognized as well: the über-English majors. It is to this group (and I admit to being one of them) that I most heartily recommend [Thirteen Ways] . . . Über-English majors will embrace this opportunity as they would the chance to reconnect with a favorite professor . . . They will also get a chance to decide whether or not they agree with Smiley's provocative statements about novels . . . There are also two chapters of advice for aspiring novelistswise and humane counsel that will more than justify the cost of the book for any would-be writers. But perhaps the greatest pleasure offered by this cross between a course syllabus and a love letter to the novel are the pages at the end [which] catalog the 100 novels Smiley read, [including some] entries that will surprise all but the most exhaustive readers. [Thirteen Ways] reminds readers of the novel why they love their avocation." Christian Science Monitor "Astonishing . . . interesting, provocative and insightful in so many ways that it is impossible to name or catalog them all. But at the very least, even the most casual novel-reader is certain to find pleasure in dipping at random into Smiley's 13th and final chapter in which she writes brief, knowledgeable, sometimes funny, often surprising essays on each of the 100 books she read . . . In the other chapters, Smiley explores with compelling energy what a novel is, and who a novelist is. She examines the history, psychology, morality and art of the novel [and] includes two chapters of advice for novel writers. [She] is remarkably perceptive and generous in her views of other writers' work . . . Smiley infuses [the book] with the full range of her sensibilitiesher concern for the craftsmanship of the novel, her politics, psychological insight and moral vision, and her aesthetic concernsthe core values, so to speak, of who she is as a writer. [She] offers readers and writers alike a path to liberation, primarily because Smiley believes there is no such thing as the perfect novel . . . More importantly, Smiley thinks that the novel remains central to democratic Western society, 'the opportunity in our bedroom to say, oh, I agree with this. And I don't agree with that.' Remember that the next time someone asks you why you're wasting your time with a novel . . . Brilliant." Bookpage "It hardly seems plausible that the prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning author suffered from a serious writing crisis in the wake of 9/11; yet that is what Smiley candidly reveals. What did she do to remedy the situation? . . . Smiley not only chose the reading cure but also launched a fresh inquiry into the novel's form, history, psychology, morality, and art, and the result is one of the most fluent, illuminating, and enjoyable studies of the novel ever assembled. Smiley dazzles the reader [with] zestful analysis . . . She then enhances her praise of the novel as a conduit for empathy in her pithy interpretations of the 100 novels chosen not because they are the 'best' but because they are intriguing. [She includes] many surprises. Smiley's brilliant and bounteous critical feat and celebration of the novel's humanitarian spirit will kindle new appreciation for the form, and inspire more adventurous reading." Booklist (starred) "Smiley decided to return to the enterprise that got her started as a wr, "Smiley's unmediated voice-blunt, uncompromising and witty-rings from every page of her engaging meditation "Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel." A ferocious intelligence and sharp political sensibility are evident in Smiley's fiction, but there her personality is rightly subordinated to the demands of story and character; she is, after all, our foremost contemporary practitioner of the traditional, realistic novel . . . Here, she speaks directly about her beliefs, her emotions and her craft. Casual in tone and idiosyncratic in organization, this study [illuminates] the author's own conception of the novel and how it works . . . Smiley's down-to-earth attitude distinguishes ["Thirteen Ways"]. She approaches the authors of the [101 novels she discusses] not as timeless geniuses but simply as peers-men and women creating narratives that reflect the issues of their eras. Yet what Smiley keeps coming back to is the fact that those issues, though different in detail, are in essence similar to the ones we grapple with today . . . But if there's one thing she believes, it's that reading fiction broadens our sympathies and stretches our imaginations so we understand that even bad guys have their reasons . . . If all Smiley did was affirm the virtues of empathy and reading in a polarized society increasingly focused on visual stimulation and individual gratification, she would have produced a work that is valuable and thought-provoking-though, perhaps, not a lot of fun. Instead, she inspires wicked delight as she seasons her text with sardonic characterizations and cogent deviations from received wisdom . . . Toward the end of the book, she includes two chapters on writing 'A Novel of YourOwn' that are studded with useful information . . . She follows that with 'Good Faith: A Case History, ' a fascinating glimpse into the life of a working writer . . . What really lingers [is] this gifted writer's profound faith in 'the power and vitality of that simple and complex object, a long story bound enticingly between the closed covers of a book.'" -"Los Angeles Times Book Review ""Swimming through 1,000 years of novels from all over the globe provides Smiley with enough inspiration and energy to express what she knows and feels and adores about literature . . . Smiley gives us a book that is sometimes a confession, occasionally a diatribe and always a pleasure. ["Thirteen Ways"] begins as a memoir but becomes an insightful examination of the history and form of the novel. With a mixture of some fabulous research and a vibrant imagination, Smiley traces the development of the novel . . . Smiley is unafraid to be frank [and] she comes up with ideas both unique and awfully smart . . . Reading this one-of-a-kind book may well remind you of sitting in your favorite college course listening to an unforgettable professor forage through a lifetime of adoring novels . . . A massive victory." -"Atlanta Journal-Constitution" "Impressive . . . Among the many things this splendid book accomplishes is to settle the long-standing dispute about whether the novel is dead . . . Not only does Jane Smiley find much solace in the course of contemporary writing, but why would a writer as sensible and intelligent as Smiley devote three years of her life to reading and writing about a moribund art form? . . . . Smiley's opinions are always interesting, but the real strength of the bookis her genuine love of the novel, and it is hard to quarrel with her judgment that it remains, despite its many obituaries, a continuing source of power and vitality." -"The Star-Ledger "(New Jersey) "Thorough, insightful . . . With great intellect, and no little enthusiasm, [Smiley] peers into the origin, psychology, morality, art and history of the novel . . . Smiley's [advice to aspiring novelists is] sensitive and practical . . . Her critiques are shrewd, artful and unflinching, much like the book they inspired. For the literati, Smiley's latest is sure to i, "Smiley's unmediated voiceblunt, uncompromising and wittyrings from every page of her engaging meditation Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel. A ferocious intelligence and sharp political sensibility are evident in Smiley's fiction, but there her personality is rightly subordinated to the demands of story and character; she is, after all, our foremost contemporary practitioner of the traditional, realistic novel . . . Here, she speaks directly about her beliefs, her emotions and her craft. Casual in tone and idiosyncratic in organization, this study [illuminates] the author's own conception of the novel and how it works . . . Smiley's down-to-earth attitude distinguishes [Thirteen Ways]. She approaches the authors of the [101 novels she discusses] not as timeless geniuses but simply as peersmen and women creating narratives that reflect the issues of their eras. Yet what Smiley keeps coming back to is the fact that those issues, though different in detail, are in essence similar to the ones we grapple with today . . . But if there's one thing she believes, it's that reading fiction broadens our sympathies and stretches our imaginations so we understand that even bad guys have their reasons . . . If all Smiley did was affirm the virtues of empathy and reading in a polarized society increasingly focused on visual stimulation and individual gratification, she would have produced a work that is valuable and thought-provokingthough, perhaps, not a lot of fun. Instead, she inspires wicked delight as she seasons her text with sardonic characterizations and cogent deviations from received wisdom . . . Toward the end of the book, she includes two chapters on writing 'A Novel of Your Own' that are studded with useful information . . . She follows that with 'Good Faith: A Case History,' a fascinating glimpse into the life of a working writer . . . What really lingers [is] this gifted writer's profound faith in 'the power and vitality of that simple and complex object, a long story bound enticingly between the closed covers of a book.'" Los Angeles Times Book Review "Swimming through 1,000 years of novels from all over the globe provides Smiley with enough inspiration and energy to express what she knows and feels and adores about literature . . . Smiley gives us a book that is sometimes a confession, occasionally a diatribe and always a pleasure. [Thirteen Ways] begins as a memoir but becomes an insightful examination of the history and form of the novel. With a mixture of some fabulous research and a vibrant imagination, Smiley traces the development of the novel . . . Smiley is unafraid to be frank [and] she comes up with ideas both unique and awfully smart . . . Reading this one-of-a-kind book may well remind you of sitting in your favorite college course listening to an unforgettable professor forage through a lifetime of adoring novels . . . A massive victory." Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Impressive . . . Among the many things this splendid book accomplishes is to settle the long-standing dispute about whether the novel is dead . . . Not only does Jane Smiley find much solace in the course of contemporary writing, but why would a writer as sensible and intelligent as Smiley devote three years of her life to reading and writing about a moribund art form? . . . . Smiley's opinions are always interesting, but the real strength of the book is her genuine love of the novel, and it is hard to quarrel with her judgment that it remains, despite its many obituaries, a continuing source of power and vitality." The Star-Ledger (New Jersey) "Thorough, insightful . . . With great intellec
Dewey Edition
22
Dewey Decimal
813/.54 B
Table Of Content
1. Introduction 2. What Is a Novel? 3. Who Is a Novelist? 4. The Origins of the Novel 5. The Psychology of the Novel 6. Morality and the Novel 7. The Art of the Novel 8. The Novel and History 9. The Circle of the Novel 10. A Novel of Your Own (I) 11. A Novel of Your Own (II) 12.Good Faith:A Case History 13. Reading a Hundred Novels A HUNDRED NOVELS 1. Murasaki Shikibu,The Tale of Genji 2. Snorri Sturluson,Egilssaga 3. Author unknown,The Saga of the People of Laxardal 4. Giovanni Boccaccio,The Decameron 5. Anonymous,Lazarillo de Tormes 6. Marguerite de Navarre,The Heptameron 7. Miguel de Cervantes,Don Quijote,vols. 1 and 2 8. Madame de La Fayette,The Princess of Clèves 9. Aphra Behn,Oroonokoand"The Fair Jilt" 10. Daniel Defoe,Robinson Crusoe, Roxana 11. Samuel Richardson,Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded 12. Henry Fielding,The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling 13. Charlotte Lennox,The Female Quixote 14. Laurence Sterne,The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 15. Voltaire,Candide 16. Tobias Smollett,The Expedition of Humphry Clinker 17. Choderlos de Laclos,Les Liaisons dangereuses 18. The Marquis de Sade,Justine 19. Sir Walter Scott,The Tale of Old Mortality, The Bride of Lammermoor 20. Mary Shelley,Frankenstein 21. Jane Austen,Persuasion 22. James Hogg,The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner 23. Stendhal,The Red and the Black 24. Nikolai Gogol,Taras Bulba 25. Mikhail Lermontov,A Hero of Our Time 26. Honoré de Balzac,Cousin PonsandCousin Bette 27. Charlotte Brontë,Jane Eyre 28. Emily Brontë,Wuthering Heights 29. William Makepeace Thackeray,Vanity Fair 30. Harriet Beecher Stowe,Uncle Tom's Cabin 31. Herman Melville,Moby-Dick; or, The Whale 32. Nathaniel Hawthorne,The House of the Seven Gables 33. Gustave Flaubert,Madame Bovary 34. Charles Dickens,A Tale of Two Cities 35. Wilkie Collins,The Woman in White, The Moonstone 36. Ivan Turgenev,Fathers and Sons 37. Émile Zola,Thérèse Raquin 38. Anthony Trollope,The Last Chronicle of Barset, The Eustace Diamonds 39. Fyodor Dostoevsky,The Idiot 40. Louisa May Alcott,Little Women 41. George Eliot,Middlemarch 42. Leo Tolstoy,Anna Karenina 43. Henry James,The Portrait of a Lady, The Awkward Age 44. Oscar Wilde,The Picture of Dorian Gray 45. Bram Stoker,Dracula 46. Kate Chopin,The Awakening 47. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,The Hound of the Baskervilles 48. Joseph Conrad,Heart of Darkness 49. Edith Wharton,The House of Mirth 50. Max Beerbohm,The Illustrated Zuleika Dobson, or an Oxford Love Story 51. Ford Madox Ford,The Good Soldier 52. Sinclair Lewis,Main Street 53. Sigrid Undset,Kristin Lavransdatter,vol. 1,The Wreath 54. James Joyce,Ulysses 55. Italo Svevo,Zeno's Conscience 56. E. M. Forster,A Passage to India 57. F. Scott Fitzgerald,The Great Gatsby 58. Franz Kafka,The Trial 59. Hermann Broch,The Sleepwalkers 60. Marcel Proust,In Search of Lost Time 61. D. H. Lawrence,Lady Chatterley's Lover 62. Virginia Woolf,Orlando 63. W
Synopsis
Over an extraordinary twenty-year career, Jane Smiley has written all kinds of novels: mystery, comedy, historical fiction, epic. "Is there anything Jane Smiley cannot do?" raves Time magazine. But in the wake of 9/11, Smiley faltered in her hitherto unflagging impulse to write and decided to approach novels from a different angle: she read one hundred of them, from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith, Nicholson Baker, and Alice Munro. Smiley exploresas no novelist has before herthe unparalleled intimacy of reading, why a novel succeeds (or doesn't), and how the novel has changed over time. She describes a novelist as "right on the cusp between someone who knows everything and someone who knows nothing," yet whose "job and ambition is to develop a theory of how it feels to be alive." In her inimitable styleexuberant, candid, opinionatedSmiley invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft. She walks us step-by-step through the publication of her most recent novel, Good Faith, and, in two vital chapters on how to write "a novel of your own," offers priceless advice to aspiring authors. Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel may amount to a peculiar form of autobiography. We see Smiley reading in bed with a chocolate bar; mulling over plot twists while cooking dinner for her family; even, at the age of twelve, devouring Sherlock Holmes mysteries, which she later realized were among her earliest literary models for plot and character. And in an exhilarating conclusion, Smiley considers individually the one hundred books she read, from Don Quixote to Lolita to Atonement, presenting her own insights and often controversial opinions. In its scope and gleeful eclecticism, her reading list is one of the most compellingand surprisingever assembled. Engaging, wise, sometimes irreverent, Thirteen Ways is essential reading for anyone who has ever escaped into the pages of a novel or, for that matter, wanted to write one. In Smiley's own words, ones she found herself turning to over the course of her journey: "Read this. I bet you'll like it.", Over an extraordinary twenty-year career, Jane Smiley has written all kinds of novels: mystery, comedy, historical fiction, epic. "Is there anything Smiley cannot do?" raves Time magazine. But in the wake of 9/11, Smiley faltered in her hitherto unflagging impulse to write and decided to approach novels from a different angle: she read one hundred of them, from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith, Nicholson Baker, and Alice Munro. Smiley explores-as no novelist has before her-the unparalleled intimacy of reading, why a novel succeeds (or doesn't), and how the novel has changed over time. She describes a novelist as "right on the cusp between someone who knows everything and someone who knows nothing," yet whose "job and ambition is to develop a theory of how it feels to be alive." In her inimitable style-exuberant, candid, opinionated-Smiley invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft. She walks us step-by-step through the publication of her most recent novel, Good Faith, and, in two vital chapters on how to write "a novel of your own," offers priceless advice to aspiring authors. Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel may amount to a peculiar form of autobiography. We see Smiley reading in bed with a chocolate bar; mulling over plot twists while cooking dinner for her family; even, at the age of twelve, devouring Sherlock Holmes mysteries, which she later realized were among her earliest literary models for plot and character. And in an exhilarating conclusion, Smiley considers individually the one hundred books she read, from Don Quixote to Lolita to Atonement, presenting her own insights and often controversial opinions. In its scope and gleeful eclecticism, her reading list is one of the most compelling-and surprising-ever assembled. Engaging, wise, sometimes irreverent, Thirteen Ways is essential reading for anyone who has ever escaped into the pages of a novel or, for that matter, wanted to write one. In Smiley's own words, ones she found herself turning to over the course of her journey: "Read this. I bet you'll like it." Book jacket., Smiley takes readers deep into the process of writing, sharing the secrets of her own habits and theories of creativity. She offers practical advice to aspiring authors and includes a reading list of novels she's read. High school & older., Over an extraordinary twenty-year career, Jane Smiley has written all kinds of novels: mystery, comedy, historical fiction, epic. "Is there anything Jane Smiley cannot do?" raves "Time "magazine. But in the wake of 9/11, Smiley faltered in her hitherto unflagging impulse to write and decided to approach novels from a different angle: she read one hundred of them, from classics such as the thousand-year-old "Tale of Genji" to recent fiction by Zadie Smith, Nicholson Baker, and Alice Munro. Smiley explores-as no novelist has before her-the unparalleled intimacy of reading, why a novel succeeds (or doesn't), and how the novel has changed over time. She describes a novelist as "right on the cusp between someone who knows everything and someone who knows nothing," yet whose "job and ambition is to develop a theory of how it feels to be alive." In her inimitable style-exuberant, candid, opinionated-Smiley invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft. She walks us step-by-step through the publication of her most recent novel, "Good Faith, "and, in two vital chapters on how to write "a novel of your own," offers priceless advice to aspiring authors. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel "may amount to a peculiar form of autobiography. We see Smiley reading in bed with a chocolate bar; mulling over plot twists while cooking dinner for her family; even, at the age of twelve, devouring Sherlock Holmes mysteries, which she later realized were among her earliest literary models for plot and character. And in an exhilarating conclusion, Smiley considers individually the one hundred books she read, from "Don Quixote "to"Lolita "to "Atonement, "presenting her own insights and often controversial opinions. In its scope and gleeful eclecticism, her reading list is one of the most compelling-and surprising-ever assembled. Engaging, wise, sometimes irreverent, "Thirteen Ways" is essential reading for anyone who has ever escaped into the pages of a novel or, for that matter, wanted to write one. In Smiley's own words, ones she found herself turning to over the course of her journey: "Read this. I bet you'll like it."
LC Classification Number
PS3569.M39Z476 2005
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