About this title: Collection of literary lectures by E.M. Forster, published in 1927. For the purposes of his study, Forster defines the novel as "any fictitious prose work over 50,000 words." Forester's wit and lively, informed originality have made this study of the novel a classic. Avoiding the chronological approach of what he calls "pseudoscholarship," Forster freely examines elements that all English-language novels have in common: story, people, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern and rhythm.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & company, New York
Date Published: 1927
Description: Good. 250 p. 20 cm. "The Clark lectures...delivered under the auspices of Trinity college, Cambridge, in the spring of 1927. "--Note. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harvest/HBJ Book
Date Published: 1956
ISBN-13:9780156091800ISBN:0156091801
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. Cover different than shown and is faded. However, most pages are bright and readable. I care about books and those who read them, so I ship promptly and package with care. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 192 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company, New York
Date Published: 1927
Description: Good. No dust jacket. Some shelf wear-and notes written inside rear cover. 250p.; Prepared as the Clark lectures delivered at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1927. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace, New York
Date Published: 1954
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Very good Copy Mass-market paperback, Text is clean and unmarked. binding is tight. spine is square with creasing, and wear, 250p. Clark lectures; 1927. Clark lectures, 1927.. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 9/14/1956
ISBN-13:9780156091800ISBN:0156091801
Description: New. Paperback. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
"A rather interesting read, whether you read or write novels. The early chapters on the more traditional aspects -- story, plot, and characters -- are easy to understand and make sense, both emotionally and logically. (The distinction he makes between story and plot is particularly insightful.) Later chapters on prophecy and fantasy become a bit more opaque than the earlier ones, but that may be due in part to the greater opacity of those aspects (and the fact that I hadn't read or heard about any of the novels from which he culled his examples). The entire shebang is written from a lecture series he gave, and so everything reads very smoothly, as if Forster is talking directly to you as a friend rather than to a wide audience through the vehicle of a non-fiction book.
Well worth your time, particularly if you're interested in the way a novel works. A caveat, though: this is not a how-to book but rather a theoretical dissection of the novel -- what makes it good, what it should do, what it can do, etc. This is not a step-by-step guide, this is not a do-and-don't, this is not a "practical" book on novel writing. Which makes it even better..."
"This fascinating book is a series of lectures (and, taking its tone from that format, is delightfully conversational) that Forster gave at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1927. In his "introductory" he makes this statement, "The final test of a novel (is) our affection for it." He proposes to discuss several aspects of the novel.
The most common denominator of all novels is this: the novel tells a story. This alone does not make a novel good, but without a story a novel cannot exist. Therefore, time is always a crucial element in any novel.
With the introduction of actors, ie characters, into a story, the emphasis shifts to values. And first Forster draws a distinction between history and fiction in the sense that history can only describe external phenomena of the actors, trying to infer feelings and motivations from these observations, whereas the novelist can, if he or she chooses, not only know but also create the actors' thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, Forster discusses "round" and "flat" characters and the role of each as well as different perspectives of narration, denying that absolute consistency of point of view is either necessary or always desirable.
Forster distinguishes story from plot, the former being a sequence of events, the latter having to do with causality. The former requires of the reader curiosity, the latter intelligence and memory. He also discusses both fantasy and prophesy in literature, and, in an interesting but brief passage, uses the then recently published Ulysses by James Joyce as an example, finding it both inspired and disgusting. By fantasy Forster means not necessarily the supernatural but rather the appearance of the odd, the unexpected. And by prophecy he refers to tone of voice. Whereas fantasy would seem to be involved with particularity, prophecy concerns itself with the universal. Neither need be explicate in the novel, but to some extent they are usually present.
Finally, Forster pattern and rhythm in the novel, and how they foster the novelist's goal of opening the reader's sensibilities. "Expansion. That is the idea the novelist must cling to. Not completion. Not rounding off but opening out." He sees the continuing development of the novel as implying the development of humanity."
"Forster meanders somewhat but is emlightening as he discusses the story, people, plot, prophecy, and patttern and rhythm. Excellent for writers and critical readers."
"Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. As other reviewers have noted, this was a series of lectures, and therefore should NOT be considered a guide on "how to write a novel." If, however, you have a background in English literature and want to write a novel, then you may find this book an interesting exercise in critical analysis.
I found the sections on story, people (parts 1 and 2), and plot thought-provoking and insightful. What made these sections most interesting were how Forster used examples to explore his analysis. Even though he refers to several novels I have never read, he provided sufficient context that I was able to understand his points with relative ease. Having read these section, I feel that I will be able to assess my own work to see how it stands up in each area.
I struggled a bit with the section on prophecy as it stabbed at my memories of reading Moby Dick, Billy Bud, and The Brothers Karamazov, from almost 20 years ago. Even so, combined with Forster's examples and analysis, I remembered enough to feel like I had a reasonable grasp of the analysis. That said, I think it will be worthwhile to revisit at least one of those books in the near future and then reread this section to see if I really understood it.
When Forster's subjects increased in complexity, diving into the more nuanced aspects of fantasy and patterns & rhythm, I floundered. I found it nearly impossible to fully understand his points without having read the novels from which he drew his examples. The concepts of rhythm & patterns in particular I feel are macro-level elements that one can only really appreciate in the context of having read an entire novel. Because of this, I didn't feel as though his examples could do the concept justice. I have limited experience reading Henry James, and none with Marcel Proust, Anatole France, or Percy Lubbock, all of whose novels Forster used as examples, so I had reason to flounder. And, unlike my interest in Melville or Dostoyevsky's work, I honestly have no interest in reading these authors, so it seems that my only opportunity to gain insight into Forster's analysis on fantasy and rhythm & patterns will be if I read some of his novels in which I hope he managed to demonstrate some of his advice."
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