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sophiereads500's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
jen286's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
The Art of Fiction is an essay responding to a lecture of on the same topic by Mr. Besant. It was an interesting read and really made me think more about novels and the writing process. James talks about defining a novel as art and what makes a novel "good". I agreed with a lot of his points, and I enjoyed reading his thoughts on novels as art. James really picks apart Besant's lecture, agreeing and disagreeing with the things he said and telling us why.
The best thing about it is James' rules for writing a novel. Make it interesting. Be true to reality. Experiment and see what happens. It seems so simple, but if I were to think of a good vs bad book I would say the bad ones lack in some of these areas. Though I might amend the second to be true to reality and the reality you create.
"But the only condition that I can think of attaching to the composition of the novel is, as I have already said, that it be interesting"
This is not something I would have read if not the the Rory Gilmore Challenge, but I am glad I did. Really a short, quick read but worth a look. You can find it online for free here.
The Art of Fiction is an essay responding to a lecture of on the same topic by Mr. Besant. It was an interesting read and really made me think more about novels and the writing process. James talks about defining a novel as art and what makes a novel "good". I agreed with a lot of his points, and I enjoyed reading his thoughts on novels as art. James really picks apart Besant's lecture, agreeing and disagreeing with the things he said and telling us why.
The best thing about it is James' rules for writing a novel. Make it interesting. Be true to reality. Experiment and see what happens. It seems so simple, but if I were to think of a good vs bad book I would say the bad ones lack in some of these areas. Though I might amend the second to be true to reality and the reality you create.
"But the only condition that I can think of attaching to the composition of the novel is, as I have already said, that it be interesting"
This is not something I would have read if not the the Rory Gilmore Challenge, but I am glad I did. Really a short, quick read but worth a look. You can find it online for free here.
tomebro's review against another edition
3.0
Long-winded and confusing, but with good points on art and how the novel fits into it. I think the novel has come a long way and I agree most with James' statement that it must be "organic".
micaela_heinrich_arndt's review against another edition
5.0
"...the only condition that I can think of attaching to the composition of the novel is, as I have already said, that it be sincere. This freedom is a splendid privilege, and the first lesson of the young novelist is to learn to be worthy of it. ... All life belongs to you... Do not think too much about optimism and pessimism; try and catch the colour of life itself."
catereads's review against another edition
3.0
My main takeaway is that Henry James is an insufferable bastard. Sir Walter Besant gave a helpful talk full of general advice on writing novels. Henry James then wrote a long-winded, off-point rebuttal that misrepresents Besant’s actual points.