How to Read a Novel by John Sutherland

How to Read a Novel by John Sutherland

This is a book about books, novels in particular: how they work, what they are about, what makes them good or bad and how to talk about them to kindred spirits.People of all ages, classes and nationalities read novels for much the same variety of reasons - to escape pain or danger, to discover the past or experience the future, to look into the intimate details of other people's lives. Since classical times readers have been sharing their experiences of literature, today they often do so in the context of a book group. Using a variety of exemplary texts How to Read a Novel forms a series of intelligent conversations, supplying readers with new questions to ask about what they read and the means and confidence to ask those questions. The word 'reading', as we customarily use it, is a very blunt instrument. We assume it's rather like riding a bicycle. You can do it (you're literate) or you can't (you're illiterate). In fact, reading well is almost as difficult as writing well. This is a kind of guidebook on how to do it.

a fascinating brief sociological history of the literary industry * New Statesman *
Entertaining * The Spectator *
an amiable stroll.. there's much enjoyment to be had from the author's examination of everything... * Sunday Times *
enlightening stuff * Daily Mail *

John Sutherland is Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London and a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology. He has published twenty books (including Is Heathcliff a Murderer? Great Puzzles in 19th Century Fiction) and writes a weekly column for the Guardian. He was chairman of the 2005 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781861979469
ISBN 10	1861979460
Title	How to Read a Novel
Author	John Sutherland
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Profile Books Ltd
Year published	2006-08-10
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable