hannah_dillard's review against another edition
4.0
2/62: This book, by Henry James, might be the first of his that I have read. I enjoyed the way he wrote because not only was he entertaining, but he approached the subject with clarity and from different perspectives. James, in 1884, looked at the various methods of writing and the reasons for reading. James contends that people can write from imagination AND logic, creativity and experience, art and facts. James concludes: “try and catch the colour of life itself.”
jemlouise07's review against another edition
4.0
Knocked off a star for Besant’s assertion that ‘everything (...) which is invented and is not the result of personal experience and observation is worthless’. I don’t know if I can blame him for this- if the aim of art is to mimic real life then, how can he be wrong? But to negate writings upon writings (fantasy, sci-fi etc, though I do not at all suspect he anticipated their subject matter)...
It doesn’t sit quite right with me, a modern reader.
It doesn’t sit quite right with me, a modern reader.
fionasfiction's review against another edition
3.0
Experiance is never limited and it is never complete.
almo's review against another edition
I don't know how to rate this essay. I could give it 4 stars, pretending I understood the whole thing, but I did not. So, an enjoyable read? Not really. But the essence of the essay struck home. The people of today (1.5 centuries after this has been written) who still look down upon fiction need a bucket of ice water to wake up from that idiotic snobbery; it takes a level of creativity and intelligence so high to write a 'good' novel. One I could only dream of possessing.
lucieheld's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
5.0
Eventhough I think that this books is a bit outdated today - meaning that I think we prase the authors and they get the fame they deserve, I found this book wery important and interesting. For every beginning author can find good advice in there.
I also thing that, for me personaly, was bright to start with this “lecture” since I am just now getting into classics. For most of the books that I plan on reading, or at least every classic, I will look at it differently than I would have. I won’t judge as much and will simply observe to get the whole picture.