13 Ways of Looking at the Novel - by Jane Smiley (Paperback)

About the Book

A Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling novelist explores the power of novels from the perspectives of both reader and writer, inspiring a renewed passion for books.

Book Synopsis

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes an essential guide for writers and readers alike: an exhilarating tour through one hundred novels that "inspires wicked delight." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

From classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to fiction by Zadie Smith, Jane Smiley explores the power of the form, looking at its history and variety, its cultural impact, and just how it works its magic. She invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft, and offering priceless advice to aspiring authors. Every page infects us anew with the passion for reading that is the governing spirit of this gift to book lovers everywhere.

Review Quotes

"Engaging.... Down-to-earth.... Smiley's unmediated voice--blunt, uncompromising and witty--rings from every page.... She inspires wicked delight." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A massive victory.... Awfully smart.... Always a pleasure." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Provocative.... Wise and humane.... It reminds readers of the novel why they love their avocation.... I most heartily recommend it." --The Christian Science Monitor

"Thorough, insightful.... Sure to inspire delicious debate and excite interest in undiscovered works.... Her critiques are shrewd, artful and unflinching.... Thirteen Ways continues to whisper its profundities long after the last page is turned." --Rocky Mountain News

About the Author

JANE SMILEY is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and most recently, Golden Age, the concluding volume of The Last Hundred Years trilogy. She is also the author of five works of nonfiction and a series of books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.