- 252 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
"Clear, vibrant" essays on reading and writing by the Pulitzer Prizeāwinning,
New York Timesābestselling author: "A reader feels smarter just taking it in" (
The Boston Globe).
From the author of A Dangerous Business, A Thousand Acres, and Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, this volume "gathers essays (and two stories) composed with wit, enthusiasm, expertise, and candor" ( Booklist).
Long acclaimed as a preeminent American novelist, Jane Smiley is also an unparalleled observer of the craft of writing. In this book, she offers penetrating essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. After a personal introduction tracing Smiley's migration from Iowa to California, she reflects on her findings in the literature of the Golden State, whose writers have for decades litigated the West's contested legacies of racism, class conflict, and sexual politics through their work. With meticulous attention, she also dives beneath surface-level interpretations of authors like Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, HalldĆ³r Laxness, and Jessica Mitford. Throughout, Smiley seeks to think harder, and with more clarity and nuance, about the questions that matter most.
"ValuableĀ .Ā .Ā . Smiley gives educators, readers, and writers much to discuss." ā Library Journal (starred review)
"Her literary criticismĀ .Ā .Ā . brims with the same keen observations, inquisitiveness, and humor as her novels.Ā .Ā .Ā . Fleet-footed and smart, this delights." ā Publishers Weekly
From the author of A Dangerous Business, A Thousand Acres, and Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, this volume "gathers essays (and two stories) composed with wit, enthusiasm, expertise, and candor" ( Booklist).
Long acclaimed as a preeminent American novelist, Jane Smiley is also an unparalleled observer of the craft of writing. In this book, she offers penetrating essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. After a personal introduction tracing Smiley's migration from Iowa to California, she reflects on her findings in the literature of the Golden State, whose writers have for decades litigated the West's contested legacies of racism, class conflict, and sexual politics through their work. With meticulous attention, she also dives beneath surface-level interpretations of authors like Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, HalldĆ³r Laxness, and Jessica Mitford. Throughout, Smiley seeks to think harder, and with more clarity and nuance, about the questions that matter most.
"ValuableĀ .Ā .Ā . Smiley gives educators, readers, and writers much to discuss." ā Library Journal (starred review)
"Her literary criticismĀ .Ā .Ā . brims with the same keen observations, inquisitiveness, and humor as her novels.Ā .Ā .Ā . Fleet-footed and smart, this delights." ā Publishers Weekly
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- Introduction
- My Absent Father
- Iceland Made Me
- Can Mothers Think?
- The Most Important Question
- Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, Gives Desdemona Some Advice
- The One and Only
- I Am Your āPrudent Amyā
- Why Go On?
- Say It Aināt So, Huck
- Thoughts on My Ćntonia
- Gregor: My Life as a Bug
- Meet Jessica Mitford
- The Other Nancy Mitford
- Laughing to the End
- Farewell, Alice Munro, and Thanks for Everything
- History vs. Historical Fiction
- Reflections on St. Louis
- Writing Is an Exercise in Freedom
- About the Author
- A Note on Type
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access The Questions That Matter Most by Jane Smiley in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.