In this brief but highly engaging book Joseph Epstein argues for
the primacy of fiction, and specifically of the novel, among all
intellectual endeavors that seek to describe the behavior of human
beings. Reading superior fiction, he holds, arouses the mind in a
way that nothing else quite does. He shows how the novel at its
best operates above the level of ideas in favor of taking up the
truths of the heart. No other form probes so deeply into that
eternal mystery of mysteries, human nature, than does the
novel. Along the way, Epstein recounts how we read fiction
differently than much else we read. He sets out how memory works
differently in the reading of fiction than in that of other works.
He notes that certain novels are best read at certain ages, and
suggests that novels, like movies, might do well to carry ratings,
with some novels best read no later than one’s early twenties,
others not to be read before the age of forty. The knowledge one
acquires from reading novels differs from all other kinds of
knowledge, for the subject of all superior fiction is human
existence itself, in all its variousness and often humbling
confusion. The spirit of the novel entails questioning much that
others consider home truths. This is demonstrated by the fact that
so many important philosophers, social scientists, jurists, and
other intellectuals have been devoted readers of fiction, among
them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Michael Oakeshott, Edward Shils,
and Clifford Geertz. The Novel, Who Needs It? takes up those
current elements in the culture that militate against the
production of first-rate fiction. Prominent among them are the rise
of online reading, the expansion of creative writing programs, the
artistically discouraging effects of political correctness, and the
pervasiveness of therapeutic thinking throughout contemporary
culture. As for the title, The Novel, Who Needs It?,
Joseph Epstein’s answer is that we all do. Â
General
Imprint: |
Encounter Books,USA
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
August 2023 |
Authors: |
Joseph Epstein
|
Dimensions: |
215 x 139mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
152 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-64177-305-8 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-64177-305-7 |
Barcode: |
9781641773058 |
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