The fun stuff, and other essays

by James Wood

Following "The Broken Estate", "The Irresponsible Self", and "How Fiction Works"--Books that established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation - "The Fun Stuff" confirms Wood's pre-eminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of the contemporary novel. In twenty-three passionate, sparkling dispatches - that range over such crucial writers as Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Edmund Wilson, and Mikhail Lermontov - Wood offers a panoramic look at the modern novel. He effortlessly connects his encyclopaedic, passionate understanding of the literary canon with an...