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scottsolomonwriter's review
5.0
This book on the craft of writing could have been entitled Aspects of Narration. Forster's observations regarding story, plot, character, and theme are all-inclusive and timeless.
saidboobily's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good book for learning how to criticize literature rather than create it. And to be fair, it is categorized as literary criticism, but I'm sure many people read this book hoping to learn how to write a novel. In my opinion, it's not suited to that goal.
josefine_k's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
3.0
Har inspireret mig til at begynde at reflektere mere over de bøger jeg læser, og til at skrive det ned, bare til mig selv. Jeg vil gå tilbage og gøre dette ved de bøger, der stadig er friske i min hukommelse.
lifesaverscandyofficial's review
essentially impossible to rate. enjoyable on the level of, like, I love Forster and I would happily read him on anything, but probably a lot more useful a """guide""" if you are more familiar with the canon he's drawing from.
frtps's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Reflections on the novel by a novelist. You will not necessarily find the nuts and bolts of how to write a novel here, but you will find many stimulating ideas about ways to assess and engage with a novel, and what you might try to do to improve your own novel. There is a great deal of humour, some of it a little hidden as each chapter was originally a lecture and the tone of voice is lost.
The weakest parts are those that talk about "prophecy". I found it difficult to understand quite what E. M. Forster was getting at; the rest of the chapters were very accessible and thought-provoking. I particularly liked the first chapter on "story", where EM Forster's view on "story" being the most primitive part of the novel, and in a sense the most odious, accords with my way of classifying the most basic novels as entertainment if all they do is provide an engaging narrative.
The lectures were delivered almost a hundred years ago, and many novels have been written since then; it would be interesting to think about more recent novels in the terms that EM Forster does here.
The weakest parts are those that talk about "prophecy". I found it difficult to understand quite what E. M. Forster was getting at; the rest of the chapters were very accessible and thought-provoking. I particularly liked the first chapter on "story", where EM Forster's view on "story" being the most primitive part of the novel, and in a sense the most odious, accords with my way of classifying the most basic novels as entertainment if all they do is provide an engaging narrative.
The lectures were delivered almost a hundred years ago, and many novels have been written since then; it would be interesting to think about more recent novels in the terms that EM Forster does here.