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haly_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This book is exactly like the first lecture a B. A or M. A Literature student would hear on his/her first class. What makes it different is the fact that it is more elaborated. Forster explains each aspect that makes a novel with great depth yet clean and to the point. He is not the one who is satisfied only when every inch of his idea is put into paper. He refrains from giving a flow chart of the periods in English Literature, and which author belongs to which time frame. He doesn't meddle with chronology, more so, he is actually least interested in it. What Forster does is pick up selected extracts from novels to supply each aspect more clearly to the reader.
Before starting to read this book, one may easily take it as a helping guide to write a novel, given its lucid title. But no, this book ain't (just) for writers and novelists. It's actually more for readers to help their reading process better.
Before starting to read this book, one may easily take it as a helping guide to write a novel, given its lucid title. But no, this book ain't (just) for writers and novelists. It's actually more for readers to help their reading process better.
itsprobable's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
last book of 2022.. pretty good, appendices and intros were illuminating and i liked the first couple of lectures the most!
will read forster’s fiction next xxx
will read forster’s fiction next xxx
bookpossum's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it to some extent, especially the laugh-out-loud moments where he points out how utterly ridiculous a plot is, or quotes a parody of Henry James by H G Wells. But many of the books of which he speaks are ones I have never even heard of and so I must confess that there were times when he lost me and I would rather have been elsewhere.
isering's review against another edition
2.0
Outdated - read something else instead! In a series of lectures, Forster strings together a few merry thoughts on writing (mainly, don't feel bad about breaking the rules). By the end, I don't remember much.
jackieeh's review against another edition
4.0
I was inspired to finally sit down and read this when, in the midst of my latest Isherwood read, I determined with glee that I was two degrees separated from Forster. And, yes, I'm the odd one out for several reasons, but E. M. Forster-->Christopher Isherwood-->Edmund White-->Me is a pretty exciting lineup to be part of.
How great would it have been to have been present at these lectures? Or, maybe not. Because today I can dogear pages and make notes in the margins and type up this review immediately, whereas if I had been in Cambridge in 1927 I probably would have sprained my wrist taking notes.
(Spoiler alert, Mr. Forster: technology does change things.)
Everyone knows the part about the king, the queen, and the difference between a plot and a story. Everyone should know how much E. M. Forster loved Moby Dick. This, in particular, spoke to my soul:
I was equally gratified to hear Forster championing Dickens, who I love in the same way I love the Phantom of the Opera musical: for reasons having nothing to do with taste and everything to do with my childhood and expressly against current coolness trends. Of course, Forster's onto me there, too, and adorably explains why he loves the Swiss Family Robinson so much while at the same time recognizing its limits. "That is why we are so unreasonable over the stories we like, and so ready to bully those who like something else."
I liked it. I learned from it. I disagreed with it at times. I'm still beyond thrilled to be two degrees from this guy.
How great would it have been to have been present at these lectures? Or, maybe not. Because today I can dogear pages and make notes in the margins and type up this review immediately, whereas if I had been in Cambridge in 1927 I probably would have sprained my wrist taking notes.
(Spoiler alert, Mr. Forster: technology does change things.)
Everyone knows the part about the king, the queen, and the difference between a plot and a story. Everyone should know how much E. M. Forster loved Moby Dick. This, in particular, spoke to my soul:
Moby Dick is full of meanings: its meaning is a different problem. It is wrong to turn the Delight or the coffin into symbols, because even if the symbolism is correct, it silences the book. Nothing can be stated about Moby Dick except that it is a contest. The rest is song.
I was equally gratified to hear Forster championing Dickens, who I love in the same way I love the Phantom of the Opera musical: for reasons having nothing to do with taste and everything to do with my childhood and expressly against current coolness trends. Of course, Forster's onto me there, too, and adorably explains why he loves the Swiss Family Robinson so much while at the same time recognizing its limits. "That is why we are so unreasonable over the stories we like, and so ready to bully those who like something else."
I liked it. I learned from it. I disagreed with it at times. I'm still beyond thrilled to be two degrees from this guy.