"John Gardner was famous for his generosity to young writers, and (this book) is his . . . gift to them. The Art of Fiction will fascinate anyone interested in how fiction gets put together. For the young writer, it will become a necessary handbook, a stern judge, an encouraging friend."--The New York Times Book Review.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Gardner's Tone is Nauseating:
As an MFA student, I thought this classic would be useful, but I found it extremely difficult to focus on what Gardner was trying to say because his message is relayed in such a pompous tone that it was nearly impossible for me to see past it. I understand that he's good at what he does, and bravo to him-- but please, it's hard to take someone seriously when they tout their opinions as facts. I'd recommend reading this because every person is different and what someone else might find this book brilliant,... more info
Vastly Overrated:
Tendentious and outdated in the sense that Gardner's views on the mechanics of fiction come right out of English departments of the 1940's and 50's. And I know it's been said elsewhere, but his defaulting to the masculine personal pronoun is incredibly grating. And then there's the question of why we are supposed to care about the views of someone who was neither prolific nor especially successful himself as a writer of fiction? He makes a few interesting points, but overall it's a pretty tedious read.more info
For Would-Be Shakespeares:
John Gardner's books are on most short lists of the best advice on how to create fiction. I have read Gardner's Art of Fiction and his On Becoming a Novelist. I recommend both books, but only for those who want to become serious literary artists. There are many aspects of AOF that I enjoyed. Readers get a long, interesting explanation of Gardner's most-famous advice; writers should craft fiction of such high quality that it creates a "vivid and continuous" (page 31) "fictional dream" (page 32) in the... more info
Good & Bad:
First for the bad. The entire first half of the book was filled with opinion stated as fact in his over-confident manner that is painful to read through. There was very little of value in that first half - in fact, I'd recommend skipping it if you do purchase the book. Second - the good. The second half was extremely valuable and informative. It gave me several aspects of writing I hadn't given much consideration to a new light. I do recommend the book for this alone. His condescending let up almost... more info
Privacy policy: we don't collect information
about visitors except for the standard technical server logs. We don't send unsolicited emails. We don't
sell the information that we don't collect about you to anyone. When you follow
links to other sites, their privacy policies apply. Thanks for visiting!
