An excellent new book from Faber,
The Good of the Novel, edited by Liam McIlvanney and Ray Ryan, is a series of essays on the nature and current state of the novel, circling such questions as What kinds of truth can be told uniquely through novels? and taking in an examination of the role of the critic. Each essay focuses on an individual novel, and the contents include Robert Macfarlane on Alan Hollinghurst's
The Line of Beauty; Tessa Hadley on Coetzee's
Disgrace and James Wood on Ian McEwan’s
Atonement. I have already gobbled up the excellent (and inspiring) introduction and James Wood's opening piece, which I'm not sure I agree with entirely - must read it again, more carefully - but which is exciting food for thought. I'd say the book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the present-day novel.
There's a discussion on the topic on the Faber blog, to which I was very kindly asked to contribute. In
Part 1 Richard T Kelly, editor of Faber Finds and agent Clare Alexander contribute their views, and in
Part 2 I have my say along with two other bloggers,
Paperback Reader and
Juxtabook. Do go on over and contribute your own views.
Cross-posted with
Elizabeth Baines
7 comments:
Great. Thanks for the heads up. I'll go check it out ASAP. And congrats on being included!
Sounds interesting - can't find a list of all the books reviewed, so might have to hunt it down in the shop before I buy
Thanks, Sue. Do add any thought of your own in the comments box.
Adrian, I couldn't find a list of the contents either. I'm away from home and don't have the book on me so had to blog without reference to it. It's a while now since Faber sent it to me and I had to force myself to put it aside to finish my own novel, so I don't remember all of the contents. I know I had read about half of the novels discussed, and I also know that I am dying to get back and read the book and those novels discussed which I hadn't read so I can read the book properly. I found the intro and Wood's piece really engrossing and I read them greedily in a way I don't usually read non-fiction.
I'll be back home on Sunday evening so can let you have a list of the contents after that if you still need it.
This sounds like a book I'd love. I am halfway through James Woods' 'How Fiction Works', which is interesting but I like to dip into these kind of books rather than reading intensely. They require much concentration!
Yes, they are books for looking at again and again. They spark off ideas which you go away and have, and then you want to come back to book to check out your ideas against what was originally said, I find...
Might just have to read this book now. I've just found your blog and am really enjoying it so far. I'm a creative writing student and first time blogger, and I've found that your blog is both down-to-earth and relevant. Thank you!
Good to meet you here, P J!
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