How Fiction Works

By: James Wood

Narrated by: James Adams

What makes a story a story? What is style? What's the connection between realism and real 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.

Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the listener through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.

©2008 Andrew Grant (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Deservedly famous for [his] intellectual dazzle, literary acuteness and moral seriousness....Wood writes like a dream." ( New York Times Book Review)
"[Wood proves] that superior criticism not only unifies and interprets a literary culture but has the power to imagine it into being." (Cynthia Ozick)

Both for readers and writers

Not every reader, even serious ones, is going to want to understand technique and the debates inside literary criticism, but this is a decent introduction to these problems. For the aspiring serious writer, though, this books seems mandatory.

Educational!

Written in short chapters, this book is a sensible diagnosis of narrative construction with good examples. What is not is a simplistic how-to book. It forces one to work a bit to understand. I especially like the chapters on "free indirect style," which I found useful as a concept that can be applied to not only writing but also filmmaking. Give it a chance!

Incredible Book Questionable Performance

Content of the book is extraordinary but when I heard the cod Irish accent I was concerned for what was to come. Still worth a listen for exceptional insight.

Incredible Work of Literary Criticism

Woods at his best. This book is both a history of the novel and handbook.

Wonderful insights

James Wood takes on a reading and writing journey that is truly encompassing, entertaining, and instructive. Bravo.