The depth and coverage of various aspects of fiction are not only impressive for the originality of his thought but also for the touch of an accomplished scholar in every aspect of the discussion ( can’t believe he is 1965 born!!!). He is a staff writer at The New Yorker and Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard.

Wood is well read and a deep lover of fiction and every page of the book reflects that. He himself was introduced to the writings of Wood by the writer Amit Chaudhari. I owe my gratitude to Pradeep Sebastian of the The Hindu for introducing me to James Wood through a small article he had written long ago in one of the sunday editions. With the reading of James Wood‘s “ How Fiction Works“, I think my journey in understanding the mechanics of fiction appears to have begun When it comes to picking books, it should be the aim of all readers to cease resembling a bull in a china shop. The ability to judge a work of fiction has twin benefits of refining our pleasure of reading and also makes us a better chooser of books. One way to enhance this ability to judge a work of fiction is to have a mental compass or a framework which provides the parameters that aid in the formulation of this judgment. However, there is a need for this judgment to be balanced, well considered and thoughtful.

Reading, as we all know, is an intensely private and voluntary activity, therefore, I believe that a reader ought to be the final arbiter in judging the merits of a work that she is reading. Genres, sub genres, eras, narratives, subjects, themes, styles, plots, detail, dialogue, pace, language and translations – all conspire to make it a hard landscape to stroll through and make sense of. For all its beauty, intellectual nourishment and entertainment, fiction remains a rough terrain.

How Fiction Works by James Wood