13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

by Jane Smiley

After 9/11, noted author Jane Smiley was faced with writer's block and decided to approach novels in a new way--read them. One hundred novels (classic and contemporary) later, Smiley has considered the novel in its entirety: its history and its form, as well as her own experience writing them and reading them. The latter topics are most interesting. The chapter on her own experience writing Good Faith was very enlightening. What I enjoyed most was the brief essay/synopsis of each novel that she read.

I plan to read the following:

The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (Smollett)
Zuleika Dobson (Beerbohm)
The Makioka Sisters (Tanizaki)
The Fountain Overflows (West)

It took me more than a month to read Smiley's tribute to novels. It was very, very, very slow and very pedantic. I'm not sure who would really be interested in this book because this English major was very bored and frustrated. Instead, I would recommend reading the mini-essays about specific novels.

1/5/06