Sheer Fiction: Volume 1
"Sheer pleasure." — Kirkus Reviews
"Sheer joy." — The New York Times
"Compared to his, most literary criticism is a genteel snooze"— Publishers Weekly
The author of such celebrated novels as Rat Man of Paris, The Very Rich Hours of Count von Stauffenberg, and The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests has collected in this volume a quarter-century of essays, short and long, on modern and contemporary fiction from around the world. More than a mere collection, however, Sheer Fiction [Vol. 1] proposes an understand of how language and "reality" interlock, and how the novel incorporates dimensions of imaginative, scientific, and philosophical consciousness. From Virginia Woolf's Orlando to the "magic realists" Andrade, Marquez, and Vargas Llosa; from the early French symbolism of Lautreamont to Blaise Centrars and Andre Schwarz-Bart; from Heinrich Boll and Christa Wolf to Samuel Beckett, Italo Calvino, G. V. Desani and Witold Gombrowicz; from the principal European languages, in short, Paul West uncovers surprising developments in the 20th-century novel.
| Weight | 0.360000 |
|---|---|
| ISBN13/Barcode | 9780914232988 |
| ISBN10 | 0914232983 |
| Author | WEST |
| Binding | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 12th March 1998 |
| Pages | 0 |
| Publisher | McPherson & Company,Publishers |
"Sheer pleasure." — Kirkus Reviews
"Sheer joy." — The New York Times
"Compared to his, most literary criticism is a genteel snooze"— Publishers Weekly
"Accessible to ordinary readers" — Small Press Book Review
The author of such celebrated novels as Rat Man of Paris, The Very Rich Hours of Count von Stauffenberg, and The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests has collected in this volume a quarter-century of essays, short and long, on modern and contemporary fiction from around the world. More than a mere collection, however, Sheer Fiction [Vol. 1] proposes an understand of how language and "reality" interlock, and how the novel incorporates dimensions of imaginative, scientific, and philosophical consciousness. From Virginia Woolf's Orlando to the "magic realists" Andrade, Marquez, and Vargas Llosa; from the early French symbolism of Lautreamont to Blaise Centrars and Andre Schwarz-Bart; from Heinrich Böll and Christa Wolf to Samuel Beckett, Italo Calvino, G. V. Desani and Witold Gombrowicz; from the principal European languages, in short, Paul West uncovers surprising developments in the 20th-century novel.
"Unlike most books that deal with contemporary fiction, this one is as interesting for its dazzling prose style as for the useful and often witty insights it offers. ... Every single piece in the book reflects West's great learning, originality, and clarity of mind." — Small Press
"Critics of all stripes would do well to read this work for the example that West presents in his charged prose. ...[F]or readers seeking an alternative view of contemporary fiction or those wishing to see more of West, this volume is a delight. Whatever else he may be, West is never a dull writer and one who says incomparably well what others stumble to articulate" — Studies in the Novel
"Paul West is a lively and imaginative writer, and his erudition permeates every page." — MaGill Book Reviews
"A brilliant collection of critical writing." — Wilson Library Bulletin