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A genuine classic of literary criticism, On Moral Fiction argues that true art is by its nature moral..
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A BOOK as wide-ranging as this one needs a governing metaphor to give it at least an illusion that all is well: It was said in the old days that every year Thor made a circle around Middle-earth, beating back the enemies of order. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
A BOOK as wide-ranging as this one needs a governing metaphor to give it at least an illusion that all is well: It was said in the old days that every year Thor made a circle around Middle-earth, beating back the enemies of order. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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12 reviews
63 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Fresh Air
8 Dec 2000
Format:Paperback
Gardner's work certainly won't appeal to postmodernists or other avant-garde scribblers who believe form takes precedence over content. His thesis is simple: all art purports to better the world, not hinder it; all art essentially believes in a form of goodness, truth, beauty, whatever you want to call it, in the sense that it affirms that there is an inherent value in life and no value in "valuelessness." He comes down strongly on writers who write like "writers," and where style becomes more important than the timeless art of storytelling. All this probably won't be very compelling to many of the readers who cling to the works of 60s writers like Pynchon, Gass, Coover, et al., who write thinly disguised treatises, not novels, and who people their books not with characters but mannequins. There is something old fashioned about Gardner's point of view, which won't win him many hipster fans, but his argument, this reader feels, stands up even stronger in today's climate where the main literary trends seem to consist of endless irony, facile references to pop culture and television. Furthermore, his book is lucid, trenchant, passionate, engaging, and of course, confrontational.
51 of 56 people found the following review helpful
An Essential Screed
16 Feb 2000
Format:Paperback
This book created some stir when originally published, perhaps due more to the naming of names (of peers Gardner judged arrogant/irresponsible/careless) than to the deeper ideas/passions which inform it. One star is subtracted for poor strategy, excessive willingness to engage on turf occupied/fortified by his not at all innocent victims. Gardner does get lost, from time to time, in one abstract philosophical swamp or another. The book may be needlessly long. But the writing rings true, finally. This is the most ambitious literary argument published during the past fifty years, certainly, and it is essentially on the mark. The academic canon was tilting dangerously in the direction of empty opaque diddling during the seventies, choked with very talented hip and superhip cynics, often on university payrolls, weary of the ancient plain work of shaping stories. The vogue was so universal that Gardner fails to find a single working American high lit contender (excluding himself, we trust) to like without heavy reservations. He does favor one Englishman, at least. This ground is tricky. Some of the writing disdained/derided seeks, in various ways, to imitate James Joyce, who is granted a semi-pass, and Ezra Pound is not properly whapped until near the end. Connecting the wave of mean arrogant cleverness to its obvious roots counts, has consequences. Gardner, who died by motorcycle accident in the early eighties, may have been just beginning to fight.
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
A most wonderful conversation
2 Nov 2001
Format:Paperback
I first read this book in the 1970's when it was new. I've owned a copy ever since, and I've given so many away as gifts that I've lost count.
It is easily my favorite book. From the moment I first read it, until today; I open its pages and feel as if I'm having a literary conversation with an old friend.
The "moral" in the title puts off some folks, but don't be deterred. Gardner uses the term "moral" as you or I would use the word "truth." All Gardner is imploring is that authors seek the truth when writing fiction and avoid cheap tricks and cheap effects. That is all.
Yes, Gardner did feel that writing comes with a responsibility. He also felt it was nothing less than a privilege, and thus comes the responsibility that goes with privilege.
Buy it, enjoy it. If you share Gardner's view (as illustrated in the paragraph above, I promise you -- you will cherish this volume).
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