Acclaim for Jane Smiley's
THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE NOVEL
“Delightfully lively…. An essential addition to any serious reader's library. ”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Combining wide-ranging literary history, insightful criticism, professional autobiography, and expert advice for budding novelists, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel is a marvelous celebration, written with generosity, wit, and candor, of the most varied and inclusive of all literary forms. Readers wishing to enhance and extend their appreciation of literary fiction without venturing into the jargon-heavy pages of academic literary criticism could not find a better guide than Jane Smiley's highly original and enjoyable book. ”
—David Lodge, author of The Art of Fiction and Author, Author
“Passionate…. Thought-provoking…. The book has a gentle, ego-free tone that makes it read as if we're in the company of a beloved English teacher. ”
—The Washington Times
“Captivating…. Every bit as gripping as any novel she's written…. Smiley clearly knows about novels from the inside out…. This is a reader's buffet. ”
—Metro Santa Cruz
“Astonishing… interesting, provocative and insightful in so many ways…. Smiley is remarkably perceptive and generous in her views of other writers’ work…. Brilliant. ”
—BookPage
“A compelling book that is, at turns, autobiography, literary criticism [and] a kind of primer for aspiring novelists. ”
—Albany Times Union
“Splendid….
Impressive…. Smiley's opinions are always interesting, but the real strength of the book is her genuine love of the novel. ”
—The Star-Ledger (Newark)
Jane Smiley
THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE NOVEL
Jane Smiley is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of more than ten novels as well as four works of nonfiction, including a critically acclaimed biography of Charles Dickens. She is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for her novel A Thousand Acres, and in 2001 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in northern California.
ALSO BY JANE SMILEYFICTION
Good Faith
Horse Heaven
The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton
Moo
A Thousand Acres
Ordinary Love and Good Will
The Greenlanders
The Age of Grief
Duplicate Keys
At Paradise Gate
Barn Blind
NONFICTION
A Year at the Races
Charles Dickens
Catskill Crafts
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We are not told of things that happened to specific people exactly as they happened; but the beginning is when there are good things and bad things, things that happen in this life which one never tires of seeing and hearing about, things which one cannot bear not to tell of and must pass on for all generations. If the storyteller wishes to speak well, then he chooses the good things; and if he wishes to hold the reader's attention he chooses bad things, extraordinarily bad things. Good things and bad things alike, they are the things of this world and no other.
— MURASAKI SHIKIBU, The Tale of Genji
CONTENTS
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
