Reading Like a Writer - by Francine Prose (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A distinguished novelist and critic inspires readers and writers with this inside look at how the professionals read--and write

Long before there were creative writing workshops and degrees, how did aspiring writers learn to write? By reading the work of their predecessors and contemporaries, says Francine Prose.

As she takes us on a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters--Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov--Prose discovers why these writers endure. She takes pleasure in the signature elements of such outstanding writers as Philip Roth, Isaac Babel, John Le Carré, James Joyce, and Katherine Mansfield. Throughout, she champions the art of close reading, cautioning readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which literature is crafted. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.

In this indispensable guide for writers and book lovers, you'll discover:

• A Writer's Toolkit: Unpack the signature tools and tricks of literary greats, from mastering narration and dialogue to crafting unforgettable characters.
• Learn from the Masters: Go beyond standard creative writing workshops and learn directly from the sentences of Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Woolf, and Chekhov.
• Word-by-Word Analysis: See how every word choice, every sentence, and every paragraph is a deliberate decision that brings a piece of literature to life.
• Read with a Fresh Eye: Whether you're an aspiring novelist or a passionate reader, find a new, more profound way to appreciate the books you love.

From the Back Cover

Long before there were creative-writing workshops and degrees, how did aspiring writers learn to write? By reading the work of their predecessors and contemporaries, says Francine Prose.

In Reading Like a Writer, Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers—Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov—and discovers why their work has endured. She takes pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; she is deeply moved by the brilliant characterization in George Eliot's Middlemarch. She looks to John Le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue, to Flannery O'Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail, and to James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield for clever examples of how to employ gesture to create character. She cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which literature is crafted.

Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.

Review Quotes

"Prose's guide to reading and writing belongs on every writer's bookshelf alongside E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Francine Prose has a knack for getting to the heart of human nature." - USA Today on A Changed Main

"Racy, intensely imagined and highly readable . . . Prose brings to Caravaggio a fresh and unflinching eye." - New York Times Book Review on Caravaggio

"Prose's little guide will motivate 'people who love books'...Like the great works of fiction, it's a wise and voluble companion." - New York Times Book Review

"Celebrates the pleasures of close reading and explores the power of well-wrought language...refreshing" - Time Out New York

"a jewel of a companion...engrossing...and...daringly insightful." - Los Angeles Times

"Readable and illuminating...few...advice volumes offer as much insight into writing as you will find in Francine Prose's latest book" - Capital Times

"Prose knows when to be funny, how to wield examples, and when to stop." - More magazine

"Witty...Insightful." - Washington Post Book World

"Reading Like A Writer is different from the rest of the pack...[Prose's] wise book serves as an ispirational reminder." - Washington Times

"The passages are...subtle and brilliant in their capture of human complexity...Prose is...a skilled...analyst of what makes them so." - San Francisco Chronicle

"Sensible, valuable and highly readable, Reading Like a Writer deserves perusal -- both in and out of the classroom." - Kansas City Star

"Makes a case for the rewards of reading." - Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel

"An absolutely necessary addition to the personal library of anyone who is a writer or dreams of writing." - National Public Radio