hmm. i think some of us postmoderns crave the solidity with which people used to think, and write, but don’t seem to much any more. if you enjoy reading fiction, it’s a pleasure to spend some time with wood, figuring out what’s interesting and exciting about james, tolstoy, pynchon, austen, flaubert, delillo, woolf etc… exploring the nuts and bolts of language & writing, but also the daring changes that these writers and many others brought to the novel.
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I agree with you Hugh. You might enjoy my review here:
http://nigelbeale.com/?p=1070
thanks nigel… off to go read it now.
I haven’t read this book yet, but I keep seeing it turn up on tables–and blogs–of people I respect. A new cult fave?
hmm. i think some of us postmoderns crave the solidity with which people used to think, and write, but don’t seem to much any more. if you enjoy reading fiction, it’s a pleasure to spend some time with wood, figuring out what’s interesting and exciting about james, tolstoy, pynchon, austen, flaubert, delillo, woolf etc… exploring the nuts and bolts of language & writing, but also the daring changes that these writers and many others brought to the novel.
It’s a lovely read too.
You can listen to Wood here, with eleanor wachtel:
http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/55622/Writers+&%3B+Company+-+28%2009%202008+-+James+Wood+Interview