How Fiction Works

Whatmakesastoryastory?Whatisstyle?What’stheconnectionbetweenrealismandreallife?ThesearesomeofthequestionsJamesWoodanswersinHowFictionWorks，thefirstbook-lengthessaybythepreeminentcriticofhisgeneration.Rangingwidely—fromHomertoDavidFosterWallace，fromWhatMaisieKnewtoMakeWayforDucklings—Woodtakesthereaderthroughthebasicelementsoftheart，stepbystep.Theresultisnothinglessthanaphilosophyofthenovel—plainspoken，funny，blunt—inthetraditionsofE.M.Forster’sAspectsoftheNovelandStrunkandWhite’sTheElementsofStyle.Itsumsuptwodecadesofinsightwithwitandconcision.Itwillchangethewayyouread.