Worth Reading: 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

January 7, 2008 at 8:20 am | In Books, Reviews | 4 Comments
Tags: Authorship, Biography, Fiction history, Jane Smiley, Literary criticism

13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, Jane Smiley (2005)

5 stars!

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves reading novels as well as for new and experienced writers. Although it covers its subject in great depth and detail, analyzing the novel throughout its history by closely examining 100 (actually, slightly more) representatives of the form, it is such fascinating material and such food for thought that it doesn’t seem academic at all. In fact, a lot of witticisms are scattered throughout (such as, “the biographer is the author’s natural enemy”), as well as useful, practical and compassionate advice for those who aspire to write a novel themselves.

I won’t say that I agree with every theory Smiley posits. She pretty much omits genre fiction, and she takes a highly feminized viewpoint, which I think betrays her reading tastes. Her outlook of the novel as a form that has primarily dealt with the question of what to do about women is likely a result of her bias toward books that focus on female characters and women’s issues; she pretty much dismisses masculine-themed books such as Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness (two personal favorites).

Smiley’s most valuable offering is a short and precise definition of what a novel is that can’t really be argued with: A novel is a lengthy, written, prose narrative with a protagonist. From that starting point, all of her subsequent ideas of what the novel is flow. This is a juicy book, one which I found inspirational both for my reading life and my writing aspirations.

4 Comments »

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I like Ms. Smiley, she’s a literate author, but this notion of dismissing male-themed books is ridiculous in the extreme. Truly GREAT books are GREAT regardless of the gender of the protagonist or the theme. Any serious discussion of the novel that employs gender considerations is not a serious literary discussion, it more likely belongs in one of those silly “gender studies” programs that have proliferated like lice.

Comment by Cliff Burns — January 7, 2008 #
Hi, Cliff: Thanks for the response. Have you read the book? While I agree that Smiley may be a bit biased in terms of gender, I think there are a lot of great ideas in her book that go beyond gender, which is why I think it is worth reading. I wouldn’t say that she dismisses male-themed books outright but rather that she displays a bias in her reading tastes that she may not be fully aware of. But I certainly agree with your second statement, which is why I try to read as broadly as I can while still enjoying what I’m reading. Thanks for visiting!

Comment by Shannon — January 7, 2008 #
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed “13 Ways of Looking At The Novel.” I found it very practical and well-written. The Humor Genre gets minimized, as does all genre fiction (as you’ve pointed out above). However, this book does contain a lot of information useful to a working writer.

Comment by agpasquella — January 7, 2008 #
[...] — unless it’s written particularly well, such as in Jane Smiley’s entertaining 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel. I also don’t like to write that kind of criticism. I’m not in school [...]

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