This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
100% excellent:
I've read many books on writing. This one is 100% excellent. It is a master work, abounding with useful and profound information. Truly, I'm in awe of what Christopher Booker has accomplished in his treatment of plots. Each of the seven is enunciated with great clarity and numerous examples. Writers of fiction will find the concepts illuminating and inspiring.
Overwhelmed by the Ego:
This review is just to cover several points that Olly Buxton's and Allen Smalling's excellent review did not stress. While I could shrug off the author's dismissal of books that didn't fit into the archetypes (a criticism of Buxton and Smalling), there are some other serious problems with this book. 1. As Allen Smalling suggests, a la Orwell's observation that inside every fat man is a thin man trying to get out, there is a provocative, insightful much smaller book hidden away in this bloated beast.... more info
Great work ... not the end of the story:
Many reviews here both positive and negative describe this facinating work in great detail ... consider whichever of them you will, then factor this into your decision: Everything you are ever told is an opinion. That's true of Mr. Booker's book and the reviews expressed here. I read not to agree with the author of a work on all points but in order to see what a book makes me THINK ... to this end a book can make many points that I do not agree with and still be highly useful, entertaining, even life... more info
Unusual justification for reading Booker's book.:
I've just ordered this book and have read others with similar approaches in condensing the possibilities of literature (Joseph Campbell essentially narrowed it down to one story - the hero's journey). There are a variety of books with 33, 48, 7 or whatever number they've concluded. They all have value to me as a researcher on writing fiction (I run a place called Writers' Village University and develop courses and writing programs for our members -- we want to know the rules, but more importantly, how to... more info
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