Review by Booklist Review
Aspiring creative writers will find a mentor in Casey. In this impressive collection of essays, the winner of the National Book Award for his novel Spartina (1989) shares with novices hard-won insights into the process of crafting great fiction. In advising readers on how to revise the first draft of a story, for instance, Casey illustrates the value of received dogmas (such as, Write What You Know), while still recognizing the success of artists who defy these dogmas (as Tolstoy does when he steps outside of all human experience in depicting Ivan Ilych's death vision). In a more personal vein, Casey recounts how he once found consolation after being kicked out of college by reading Moby-Dick aloud. In the same candid voice, he explains why his own former convictions provide excellent material for fictive humor. Yet readers will detect nothing condescending in the instruction Casey provides: he still remembers hearing an editor characterize some of his own early work as embarrassingly bad. A master revisits the wellsprings of imaginative art.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this collection of essays, National Book Award-winning novelist Casey (Spartina) presents his take on the craft of writing fiction, or "things to think about, when your writing has got you lost in the woods." In regards to humor ("What's Funny"), he concludes that the best humor is grounded in something true. For sex scenes ("Sex and Violence"), he suggests that writers think in terms of "cathexis and release." Throughout, he illustrates ideas with excerpts from published stories, the weight of which lands more effectively if readers are familiar with the quoted works. The reach from good story to instructive lesson on writing unfortunately often falls short. However, some of Casey's anecdotes are especially insightful, such as his analogy that the right sexual tension in a story resembles a full glass with water "above the rim but kept in place by surface tension." In a crowded field of writing reference books, this book does not substantially advance the genre, though it may appeal to Casey fans. Agent: Michael Carlisle, Inkwell Management. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Novelist and translator Casey (English, Univ. of Virginia, National Book Award winner for Spartina) distinguishes this fiction guide from the ocean of others by relating his experiences in disciplines such as theater, law, and translation to the art of fiction writing. He also covers humor, point of view, structure, voice, scene-setting, and mentors. In the essay "If I Were a Flower, What Kind of Flower Would I Be?" Casey recalls his brief acting career and describes how one-on-one rehearsals with an experienced actress taught him to invest more of himself in his art. Another piece, "In other words," explains how translating a work from a foreign language into English improves a writer's skills in English. But not all Casey's wisdom follows this pattern. He also explicates passages from the masters to make an array of insights. In "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch," for example, the author analyzes a technique called "simultaneity" in the works of Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut, and Anton Chekhov, and shows how it can create an extremely desirable "charged effect." Of the 14 essays, seven were previously published in books including Annie Dillard's The Writing Life and periodicals such as Story Quarterly. VERDICT This guide belongs on every writer's shelf.-Paul Stenis, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
National Book Awardwinning novelist Casey (English/Univ. of Virginia;Compass Rose, 2010, etc.) waxes thoughtful about his craft in a collection of essays, some nearly 20 years old.The title, which sounds a little how-to-do-it, is somewhat misleading. Yes, the art of fiction is the authors subject, but these are more ruminative, speculative pieces than they are lessons in how to write stories and novels. Readers looking for bullet-point lists of specific recommendations should look elsewhere. Also: Since the essays were written over a period of decades, some of the examples and anecdotes appear more than once. Casey frequently writes about his time at the Iowa Writers Workshop (with kind words for such teachers as Kurt Vonnegut Jr.), and he alludes in several ways to NabokovsSpeak, Memory. He repeats a story about a painting chimpanzee, and several times, he discusses the significance for beginning writers of the work of acting theorist Stanislavski. On the whole, however, Caseys topics are compelling and useful. He examines quintessentiallyAmerican writersTwain, Whitman, Hemingway and Salingerand he explores the concept of human justice in fiction (are you treating your characters equally?). Casey also reflects on humorand consults some pretty good authorities (Oscar Wilde)leaps back in history for consideration of AristotlesPoetics, and traces the history of sex and violence in fiction (D.H. Lawrence makes an expected appearance here). The author notes the various uses of the first personfrom My Last Duchess to Edgar Allan Poe to the swelling I of Whitmanand he asserts that the point of it all is to crack the skull of a characterso that the individual psyche of the character is releasedan apt and unforgettable image. The author also includes essays on vocabulary, translation and childhood readingwith a shout out toCatcher in the Ryeand ends with an affectionate tribute to his mentor, Peter Taylor.Not a handbook for students but a guidebook for thinking about fiction. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
