The Novelist’s Lexicon

Writers on the Words That Define Their Work

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book The Novelist’s Lexicon by , Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780231521697
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: October 27, 2010
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780231521697
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: October 27, 2010
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

At the renowned, international literary conference hosted by Villa Gillet and Le Monde, organizers asked more than seventy prominent authors to choose a word that opens a door to their work. Their musings, collected here for the first time, offer an extraordinary portrait of writing and reading from the novelist's perspective. Organized alphabetically by keyword, the anthology is filled with intriguing, amusing, and often surprising insight, essential to an intimate understanding of literature.

Through these personal "passwords," authors articulate the function of language, character, plot, and structure. Throughout the process, they reveal their relationship to the elements of story. Jonathan Lethem discusses the necessity of "furniture" in the novel. A. S. Byatt describes the power of the narrative web. Colum McCann details the benefits of anonymity. Daniel Mendelsohn expounds on the unknowable, or what the author should or should not impart to the reader. Etgar Keret explains the importance of balagan, a Hebrew word meaning "total chaos," and Annie Proulx clarifies terroir, which embodies the complexities of time, place, geography, weather, and climate. Other participants include Rick Moody on adumbrated, Upamanyu Chatterjee on the bildungsroman, Enrique Vila-Matas on discipline, Adam Thirwell on hedonism, Nuruddin Farah on identities, Andre Brink on the heretic, and Péter Esterhazy on the power and potential of words, words, words.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

At the renowned, international literary conference hosted by Villa Gillet and Le Monde, organizers asked more than seventy prominent authors to choose a word that opens a door to their work. Their musings, collected here for the first time, offer an extraordinary portrait of writing and reading from the novelist's perspective. Organized alphabetically by keyword, the anthology is filled with intriguing, amusing, and often surprising insight, essential to an intimate understanding of literature.

Through these personal "passwords," authors articulate the function of language, character, plot, and structure. Throughout the process, they reveal their relationship to the elements of story. Jonathan Lethem discusses the necessity of "furniture" in the novel. A. S. Byatt describes the power of the narrative web. Colum McCann details the benefits of anonymity. Daniel Mendelsohn expounds on the unknowable, or what the author should or should not impart to the reader. Etgar Keret explains the importance of balagan, a Hebrew word meaning "total chaos," and Annie Proulx clarifies terroir, which embodies the complexities of time, place, geography, weather, and climate. Other participants include Rick Moody on adumbrated, Upamanyu Chatterjee on the bildungsroman, Enrique Vila-Matas on discipline, Adam Thirwell on hedonism, Nuruddin Farah on identities, Andre Brink on the heretic, and Péter Esterhazy on the power and potential of words, words, words.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Duplicity of Philosophy's Shadow by
Cover of the book The Layers of Magazine Editing by
Cover of the book GMO China by
Cover of the book How to Read Chinese Poetry by
Cover of the book The Islamic Context of The Thousand and One Nights by
Cover of the book Contentious Activism and Inter-Korean Relations by
Cover of the book Born Translated by
Cover of the book Work and the Workplace by
Cover of the book The Other Blacklist by
Cover of the book The Complete Works of Zhuangzi by
Cover of the book Addressing Rape Reform in Law and Practice by
Cover of the book The International Politics of Intelligence Sharing by
Cover of the book Where Men Hide by
Cover of the book In Their Siblings’ Voices by
Cover of the book The Cinema of Michael Winterbottom by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy