A review by halibut
How Fiction Works by James Wood

4.0

It's been a long while since I read any literary critcism, and this book was casual enough in tone to be an easy reintroduction. The introduction to the 2018 edition spends some time defending against accusations that it is just a defense of realism, but a large amount of the book is dedicated to analysis of realism and it's shifting forms. Some of the more technical points, like a definition of free indirect style and the function of detail I found really useful, and the rest I found at least interesting. There were points where more arch postmodernists like Barth are dismissed almost as shallowly comic and I think their work does get short shrift here, but it would be strange to read a book of criticism and agree with every point. It's left me with a list of books I now want to read though!