13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling novelist Jane Smiley celebrates the novel--and takes us on an exhilarating tour through one hundred of them--in this seductive and immensely rewarding literary tribute.In her inimitable style--exuberant, candid, opinionated--Smiley explores the power of the novel, 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 she offers priceless advice to aspiring authors. As she works her way through one hundred novels--from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith and Alice Munro--she infects us anew with the passion for reading that is the governing spirit of this gift to book lovers everywhere.From the Trade Paperback edition.

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 Andcharacter.

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.”

publishers Weekly

plagued By A Sense Of Despair While Writing Her Last Novel, Good Faith, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Smiley (a Thousand Acres, Etc.) Decided To Return To The Enterprise That Got Her Started As A Writer: Reading. The Result Is A Book That Sets Out To Investigate The Novel Itself. Smiley Does Not Offer A Radically New Way Of Seeing The Novel. Instead, Her Study Is Methodical And Cumulative, Producing A Wonderful Text, Opinionated But Not Argumentative, Instructive But Not Heavily Theoretical Text. The Book Is Roughly Divided Into Three Sections: The First Classifies The Novel, Beginning With The Most Simple Of Definitions (e.g., It's Long, In Prose, Has A Protagonist), And Adds Moral And Aesthetic Complexity As It Moves Along. The Second Section Consists Of A Primer For Fledgling Novelists. Here Smiley's Years As A Writing Instructor Show; Her Attitude Toward All Potential Novelists Is Open-minded And Generous, Acknowledging The Difficulty Of The Project While Providing Encouragement To Continue. Finally, The Book Turns To The Hundred Novels She Chose To Read, From The Tale Of Genji And Don Quixote To White Teeth And Atonement, Devoting A Few Pages To A Consideration Of Each. The Result Is A Thorough Reflection On The Art And Craft Of The Novel From One Of Its Best-known Contemporary Practitioners.50,000 First Printing. (sept. 15) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author celebrates the art of fiction and the pleasures of reading as she looks at one hundred very different examples of the novel, ranging from the classics to little-known gems and from the Tale of Genji to Zadie Smith's White Teeth, discussing the evolution of the novel, the practice of novel-writing, and the publication process. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.