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forgottensecret's review against another edition
2.0
'His reputation in his day – that is easy to understand. There are important historical reasons for it, which we should discuss if our scheme was chronological. But when we fish him out of the river of time, and set him to write in that circular room with the other novelists, he presents a less impressive figure.'
E.M. Forster, the author of 'A Passage to India' and 'A Room with a View', adapts his 1927 Clark Lectures at Trinity College, Cambridge to offer an analysis of fiction. We learn that no English novelist surpasses Tolstoy and that characters can be 'round' or 'flat'. We also learn, most interestingly, to view the great writers within the same room rather than on different temporal junctures of a chronology.
Outside of that last insight, the standout takeaway from this book is how lucky we are to have much better books concerning the ins and outs of fiction. I would recommend this only for the most dedicated of E.M. Forster fans and redirect those interested in fiction writing to look elsewhere.
E.M. Forster, the author of 'A Passage to India' and 'A Room with a View', adapts his 1927 Clark Lectures at Trinity College, Cambridge to offer an analysis of fiction. We learn that no English novelist surpasses Tolstoy and that characters can be 'round' or 'flat'. We also learn, most interestingly, to view the great writers within the same room rather than on different temporal junctures of a chronology.
Outside of that last insight, the standout takeaway from this book is how lucky we are to have much better books concerning the ins and outs of fiction. I would recommend this only for the most dedicated of E.M. Forster fans and redirect those interested in fiction writing to look elsewhere.
noel_rene_cisneros's review against another edition
4.0
Fosrter parte de una conceptualización sencilla de la novela —narración de considerable extención— para plantear los aspectos de la novela —la historia, los personajes, el argumento, la fantasía, la profecía, el patrón y el ritmo—, en un análisis que se circunscribe sobre todo a la novela escrita en inglés —aunque con menciones a autores y obras de otros ámbitos, como la de Tolstoi o Gide—. Un buen punto de partida para entender el género novélistico y analizarlo.
kirsten0929's review against another edition
4.0
Highly recommend to any book lover. In this complication of a series of lectures he gave at Cambridge in 1927, he discusses story, people, plot, fantasy and prophesy, and rhythm and pattern. He’s smart and insightful and funny. I laughed when I read, “Nearly all novels are feeble at the end.” Yes! Feels so true. And I loved that he rescued me personally with, “…to dislike the fantastic in literature is not to dislike literature. It does not even imply poverty of imagination, only a disinclination to meet certain demands that are made on it.” Yes, I just have a disinclination to meet certain demands. Much better than a poverty of imagination. I also loved his discussion of flat and round characters and the importance of both.
mittland's review against another edition
4.0
I'm currently trying to write (and by currently I mean I've been working on this piece for almost a year..) and it does help to read these kind of discussions to kind of shake things loose. mr forster is always engaging and fun, and I love how blunt he is about his opinions on literature. the period this is written during is rife with classics I love (ulysses!!) and it's interesting to see how they were perceived by their contemporaries
captlychee's review against another edition
3.0
The points he makes are interesting and intelligent, and he manages to add in some humour into his lectures. I could only wish that his examples were more current, but of course he can't be better than his times, and predict what novels would be around today that make his points. You could see this as a reason to read some of those old classics, too, in light of what he writes about them.
It was good to read that the man who wrote [b:The African Queen|423125|The African Queen|C.S. Forester|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344268611l/423125._SY75_.jpg|712587], or rather, didn't write it because [a:C.S. Forester|932179|C.S. Forester|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1218219226p2/932179.jpg] did, likes [b:The Swiss Family Robinson|62111|The Swiss Family Robinson|Johann David Wyss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385171459l/62111._SX50_.jpg|2441994]. He says he will probably be reading it in his dorage, and I hope that I will be, too.
It was good to read that the man who wrote [b:The African Queen|423125|The African Queen|C.S. Forester|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344268611l/423125._SY75_.jpg|712587], or rather, didn't write it because [a:C.S. Forester|932179|C.S. Forester|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1218219226p2/932179.jpg] did, likes [b:The Swiss Family Robinson|62111|The Swiss Family Robinson|Johann David Wyss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385171459l/62111._SX50_.jpg|2441994]. He says he will probably be reading it in his dorage, and I hope that I will be, too.
warrenl's review against another edition
4.0
There is a lot of hi-falutin' stuff in here that shot right over the top of my rather lowly intellect, but Forster taught me a great deal as I plugged through to the end, and I will now view and reflect on every novel I read, or ever have read, in different lights and with greatly enhanced clarity. On this alone, I judge this little book a great success.
reverie_and_books's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This is a collection of lecture notes for a course he gave at Cambridge University in 1927. It spans the topics Story, People, Plot, Fantasy, Prophecy, Patterns, and Rhythm of novels. In that way this is a meta-book on the art of writing novels, the connections between People and Plot, the differences between scholars, pseudo-scholars and critics, and much more.
“The final test of a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else which we cannot define.”
Forster acknowledges personal taste and relations to a novel before putting this important but subjective matter aside. With reference to many classic authors like Melville, Dickens, E. Brontë and Austen, but also the (to him) superior novels of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, he give examples in regards to the topics he discusses.
This collection might be especially fun if you’ve read a few classic novels and want to dissect the matter they are made of.
“The final test of a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else which we cannot define.”
Forster acknowledges personal taste and relations to a novel before putting this important but subjective matter aside. With reference to many classic authors like Melville, Dickens, E. Brontë and Austen, but also the (to him) superior novels of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, he give examples in regards to the topics he discusses.
This collection might be especially fun if you’ve read a few classic novels and want to dissect the matter they are made of.