Customer Reviews

Essentials of the Theory of Fiction, 2nd ed.

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This ain't a bad book. And in case you haven't noticed, I ain't no hi-brow writer! There are some decent insights in this book -- granted, much of the referenced material assumes you have read a deep library of classic fiction and some parts are snobbish. But you can still get something out of this book if you want to. Might not be a bad idea to read one or two of the books referenced in the essays. After all, the basic assumption here is you want to learn about fiction theory, otherwise you wouldn't even have searched this book out! Right?

If you want some insight on the theory behind fiction, you'll get it here. Most essays are short, and will enlighten you of the whys behind the how comes of writing. It's not a difficult to read book, and if you, like me, are looking for something more insightful than the typical "how to" writing books without having to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for an MFA or even a BFA, you'll like this book. Bottom line, if you have a desire to get aquainted with writing fiction beyond the "This is plot, this is character, this is scene etc...," get this book.

Unless you have read tons of fiction - in the original French and Russian - this book of literary (a code word for positively boring and meaningless) criticism is a bunch of poorly written essays that speak to the sad, sorry state of what passes for high-brow literature these days. This is THE reason fiction writers should not write explanatory prose - they can't write clearly, coherently, or concisely. I was assigned this book for a creative writing class, and still do not know what the heck these people are talking about. I'm sure these people are very smart and have great information, but they're just bad writers. The authors' "target audience" is obviously other equally pretentious people, but for even college educated people, this book is a slog fest full of inside, esoteric, litto-babble.