James Wood
British-American literary critic whose How Fiction Works is the finest recent examination of the art of the novel. His reviews in The New Yorker and London Review of Books have shaped literary taste for a generation. He coined the term 'hysterical realism' for the maximalist novel of DeLillo and Pynchon.
Works
- How Fiction WorksCritical examination of techniques and principles of fiction writing
- The Broken EstateEssays on literature, theology, and the decline of Christian culture
- The Irresponsible SelfEssays on self-consciousness, irony, and moral seriousness in literature
- The Fun StuffCollection of essays on literature, culture, and life
- Serious NoticingEssays on close reading and the pleasures of literary attention