- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books (10 Aug 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861979460
- ISBN-13: 978-1861979469
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 128,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"'Engaging, intelligent.' The Times 'Sutherland takes us on a swift and entertaining tour of fiction's engine room... Passionate about his subject... he reminds us, quoting Paul Auster, "it is the reader who writes the book and not the writer".' TLS 'I can't think of anyone better qualified, anyone with quite the same combination of pizzazz, technical know-how and sheer enthusiasm as Professor Sutherland.' Independent on Sunday"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Daily Mail, August 24, 2007
`enlightening stuff'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I eagerly pre-ordered this having seen it puffed in the national press, and read it in a day or so. I'd hoped it would give me a new perspective on the wide variety of novels (from Tolstoy and Austen to Sophie Kinsella) that I read, and some insights that I, as a science graduate, haven't gained from my education.
It was an enjoyable read and I liked Sutherland's illustration of his points with examples from a wide range of literature. I gained some useful insights and tips - such as the 'read page 69' test for bookshop browsers, and the need to consider the various timings of a novel's conception, writing, publication and setting. However, some of the content, such as the discussion of the economics of publishing and bookshops, was thin; perhaps because this is not Sutherland's real expertise. He's an academic and critic, not a publisher or bookseller, and it shows. Even the 'literary' content was diluted and too populist, I felt. I had read the vast majority of the books he name-checked and would have liked more pointers to lesser-known works.
It was a worthwhile read, but he could have assumed rather more knowledge and intelligence in his audience, and delivered a more satisfying book.
It was an enjoyable read and I liked Sutherland's illustration of his points with examples from a wide range of literature. I gained some useful insights and tips - such as the 'read page 69' test for bookshop browsers, and the need to consider the various timings of a novel's conception, writing, publication and setting. However, some of the content, such as the discussion of the economics of publishing and bookshops, was thin; perhaps because this is not Sutherland's real expertise. He's an academic and critic, not a publisher or bookseller, and it shows. Even the 'literary' content was diluted and too populist, I felt. I had read the vast majority of the books he name-checked and would have liked more pointers to lesser-known works.
It was a worthwhile read, but he could have assumed rather more knowledge and intelligence in his audience, and delivered a more satisfying book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this on the strength of the first chapter which was all about "pseudo-choice" and the book avalanche we are now subjected to. I found this a reasonably spirited and even - shock! - impassioned attack on the flooding of the market with so much of a middling quality that reduces the literary experience to a uniform flatness. Perhaps. But I read on and nothing really matched this, although he has a nice jokey way I guess.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm quite a fan of books on books, since reading a book about books can make you pick up or return to a book previously unread, or re-set the way you think about a certain novel or writer. John Sutherland's `How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide' is an addition to the Bloom-Bradbury style canon and more recent offerings like the BBC's `The Big Read' (which Sutherland was involved in) and my favourite book of this kind, the Faber-Waterstones millennial publication `The Test of Time: What Makes a Classic a Classic?.'
Sutherland's book is the ideal book to read between books, maybe it will get you picking up a certain title here - though elements of the book aren't that far away from several books for aspiring writers, e.g. elements such as sleeve-art, publishers, or editing. The chapter `Hardback or paperback?' ties in with an overall approach that nods to the way we have more choices than ever with the advent of Amazon and the net - which the first chapter `So many novels, so little time' alludes to.
This book is very up to date, touching on Zadie Smith's recent EM Forster-referencing `On Beauty' and the notion of the prize novel - I don't recall mention of Richard & Judy, who jumped on the Oprah-publishing bandwagon, but they are quite forgettable. There are many common debates here, which suggests that anyone studying literature or film may want to read this - I enjoyed the part that touched on adaptations and Sutherland's scathing estimation of the dire adaptation of Woolf's `Mrs Dalloway.' The recent adaptation of `Pride & Prejudice' is touched on, so the common book vs. movie/television adaptation features and the way people know certain books despite never having read the source texts (apparently Kate Bush's `Wuthering Heights' was informed by a BBC adaptation and not a primary reading of Bronte's novel).
The chapters are short and great to dip into, one to browse in a coffee shop, or transport you in your lunch hour - the section on `Saturday' and John Banville veered off into journalism and the scathing way writers are about writers - very Martin Amis, very `Ravelstein'! I enjoyed the excellent chapter setting book against film, particularly Sutherland's comparison of two key Hubert Selby Jr novels against their cinema versions - the reference to the `Tralala'-gang rape and the unpleasant conclusion that didn't feature in Uli Edel's adaptation reminds you how much more graphic a novel can be...
The only drawbacks were the obligatory reference to the over familiar post-modernity of `Pulp Fiction' and the fact the editor didn't notice that Philip K Dick's novel has a title that is `Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' - rather than the electronic brand alluded to on page 62. Sloppy stuff, especially when the book touches on the realm of publishing. `How to Read a Novel' is hugely readable stuff and would make a fine book to browse through in the initial months of your first year at university; then again, it would make an engaging read whoever you are. It made me want to read `Saturday', after I'd been confused by the critical reception and somewhat put off - obviously it's in the `to read' pile still!!
Sutherland's book is the ideal book to read between books, maybe it will get you picking up a certain title here - though elements of the book aren't that far away from several books for aspiring writers, e.g. elements such as sleeve-art, publishers, or editing. The chapter `Hardback or paperback?' ties in with an overall approach that nods to the way we have more choices than ever with the advent of Amazon and the net - which the first chapter `So many novels, so little time' alludes to.
This book is very up to date, touching on Zadie Smith's recent EM Forster-referencing `On Beauty' and the notion of the prize novel - I don't recall mention of Richard & Judy, who jumped on the Oprah-publishing bandwagon, but they are quite forgettable. There are many common debates here, which suggests that anyone studying literature or film may want to read this - I enjoyed the part that touched on adaptations and Sutherland's scathing estimation of the dire adaptation of Woolf's `Mrs Dalloway.' The recent adaptation of `Pride & Prejudice' is touched on, so the common book vs. movie/television adaptation features and the way people know certain books despite never having read the source texts (apparently Kate Bush's `Wuthering Heights' was informed by a BBC adaptation and not a primary reading of Bronte's novel).
The chapters are short and great to dip into, one to browse in a coffee shop, or transport you in your lunch hour - the section on `Saturday' and John Banville veered off into journalism and the scathing way writers are about writers - very Martin Amis, very `Ravelstein'! I enjoyed the excellent chapter setting book against film, particularly Sutherland's comparison of two key Hubert Selby Jr novels against their cinema versions - the reference to the `Tralala'-gang rape and the unpleasant conclusion that didn't feature in Uli Edel's adaptation reminds you how much more graphic a novel can be...
The only drawbacks were the obligatory reference to the over familiar post-modernity of `Pulp Fiction' and the fact the editor didn't notice that Philip K Dick's novel has a title that is `Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' - rather than the electronic brand alluded to on page 62. Sloppy stuff, especially when the book touches on the realm of publishing. `How to Read a Novel' is hugely readable stuff and would make a fine book to browse through in the initial months of your first year at university; then again, it would make an engaging read whoever you are. It made me want to read `Saturday', after I'd been confused by the critical reception and somewhat put off - obviously it's in the `to read' pile still!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good overall read.
Enjoyed this book & it was easy to read. I thought it might be heavy going but it was the opposite. I did think it would give me more insight into plots & characters & how they are... Read more
Published on 16 April 2009 by A. DORRINGTON
A witty, perceptive book
Thought the title was a bit off-putting (of course I know how to read a novel!) but read it because I knew and liked John Sutherland's writing. I was not disappointed. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2008 by Wynne Kelly
A Different Slant
Not many books have a joke on the cover. Check it out. This rather 'tongue-in-cheek' user's guide to novels, and the purchase and reading of them, is as important to me, as it... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2007 by Michael J. Hunt
Strange Obsessions
On the face of it John Sutherland's guide to choosing a novel - rather than reading it, as the title suggests - is a light, semi-intellectual trawl through the world of books and... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2007 by J. Blake
Much more than its title - essential reading for the book-lover
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book, finding it difficult to put down and then looking forward to picking it up again. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2007 by A Common Reader
Deceptive, Careless, Anti-intellectual
Deception is the first and most important criticism against this book. The title "How to read a novel" is almost entirely unrelated to the book's contents. Read more
Published on 11 April 2007 by London Reviewer
Books about books
I am surprised so few people have reviewed this. This is a book meant for the Amazon community... teaching us all about our favourite thing: books. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by Vinny
Informative look at publishing
A fascinating and surprisingly amusing look at the publishing industry, tracing the history of the novel and its growing popularisation and our changing relationship with the... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2006 by G. L. Haggett
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