13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley

13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley

An essential guide for writers and readers alike, here is Smiley's great celebration of the novel. As she embarks on an exhilarating tour through one hundred titles--from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith and Alice Munro--she explores the power of the form, looking at its history and variety, its cultural impact, and just how it works its magic. She invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft, and offering priceless advice to aspiring authors. Every page infects us anew with the passion for reading that is the governing spirit of this gift to book lovers everywhere.

Jane Smiley is the author of A Thousand Acres, as well as more than 10 other works of fiction, including Horse Heaven, Moo, and The Greenlanders, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. She resides in the state of California's northwestern region.