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Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature
A brilliant examination of literary inventions through the ages, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante, that shows how writers have created technical breakthroughs—rivaling any scientific inventions—and engineering enchantments to the human heart and mind.
Literature is a technology like any other. And the writers we revere—from Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, and others—each made a unique technical breakthrough that can be viewed as both a narrative and neuroscientific advancement. Literature’s great invention was to address problems we could not not how to start a fire or build a boat, but how to live and love; how to maintain courage in the face of death; how to account for the fact that we exist at all.
Wonderworks reviews the blueprints for twenty-five of the most powerful developments in the history of literature. These inventions can be scientifically shown to alleviate grief, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, numbness, depression, pessimism, and ennui—all while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, hope, joy, and positive change. They can be found all throughout literature—from ancient Chinese lyrics to Shakespeare’s plays, poetry to nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and crime novels to slave narratives.
An easy-to-understand exploration of the new literary field of story science, Wonderworks teaches you everything you wish you learned in your English class. Based on author Angus Fletcher’s own research, it is an eye-opening and thought-provoking work that offers us a new understanding of the power of literature.
Literature is a technology like any other. And the writers we revere—from Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, and others—each made a unique technical breakthrough that can be viewed as both a narrative and neuroscientific advancement. Literature’s great invention was to address problems we could not not how to start a fire or build a boat, but how to live and love; how to maintain courage in the face of death; how to account for the fact that we exist at all.
Wonderworks reviews the blueprints for twenty-five of the most powerful developments in the history of literature. These inventions can be scientifically shown to alleviate grief, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, numbness, depression, pessimism, and ennui—all while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, hope, joy, and positive change. They can be found all throughout literature—from ancient Chinese lyrics to Shakespeare’s plays, poetry to nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and crime novels to slave narratives.
An easy-to-understand exploration of the new literary field of story science, Wonderworks teaches you everything you wish you learned in your English class. Based on author Angus Fletcher’s own research, it is an eye-opening and thought-provoking work that offers us a new understanding of the power of literature.
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First published March 9, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
January 21, 2021
I was intrigued by the idea of "literary" inventions.
Angus Fletcher has studied and dissected how the psychological impact of literature, and what literature does to achieve that impact.
It's what first drew me to books. As a girl, I recognized how books widened my knowledge and understanding, but mostly I was impressed by how they could make me FEEL. Books could make me cry. Make me laugh. Cause all kinds of ideas to spark in my head. I was awed by that power.
In Wonderworks, Fletcher takes readers on a historical tour of the great moments in literature, showing the advances in literary tools and how the human brain reacts to cause emotional responses that can heal and enlarge our individual lives.
I have never read anything like it.
Fletcher's vast knowledge shines as he leads us through his thinking, from one literary achievement to another, showing the development of each "invention". He then parses the reactive brain chemistry that causes the reader's reactions.
I enjoyed reading the book one invention at a time. Some inventions were easy to grasp; others took effort. I was familiar with much of the literature used as examples, but was happy to encounter new ones. Like the ancient papyrus text The Wisdom of Ptahhotep, which advises "For as long as you life, follow your heart." At the chapter's end, Fletcher includes books and movies that offer the same psychic value as the literature he has discussed.
This is a radical, innovative way of looking at literature. It is provoking.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Angus Fletcher has studied and dissected how the psychological impact of literature, and what literature does to achieve that impact.
It's what first drew me to books. As a girl, I recognized how books widened my knowledge and understanding, but mostly I was impressed by how they could make me FEEL. Books could make me cry. Make me laugh. Cause all kinds of ideas to spark in my head. I was awed by that power.
In Wonderworks, Fletcher takes readers on a historical tour of the great moments in literature, showing the advances in literary tools and how the human brain reacts to cause emotional responses that can heal and enlarge our individual lives.
I have never read anything like it.
Fletcher's vast knowledge shines as he leads us through his thinking, from one literary achievement to another, showing the development of each "invention". He then parses the reactive brain chemistry that causes the reader's reactions.
I enjoyed reading the book one invention at a time. Some inventions were easy to grasp; others took effort. I was familiar with much of the literature used as examples, but was happy to encounter new ones. Like the ancient papyrus text The Wisdom of Ptahhotep, which advises "For as long as you life, follow your heart." At the chapter's end, Fletcher includes books and movies that offer the same psychic value as the literature he has discussed.
This is a radical, innovative way of looking at literature. It is provoking.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
October 5, 2021
[3.5 stars]
I first heard about Angus Fletcher from an episode of Brene Brown's Unlocking Us podcast which I have fallen in love with over the last year or so. He was so insightful, and their conversation was shook up my thinking about how I read and analyze literature, both as someone who studied literature in college but also simply enjoys reading and thinking critically about the books I read for fun.
In this book Fletcher explains the historical precedence for literary inventions or tools that we most likely don't think consciously about while reading or don't recognize as 'novel' (ha!) because they are so engrained in our literature today. He goes back and explores what caused their inception as well as the neurological phenomenon that occurs when we experience them in literature. He takes both a historical and scientific view of these 'wonderworks' and then gives examples of them in various pieces of literature so we can see them in action.
It's a quite comprehensive book. Each chapter takes the same structure and in total he touches on 25 of these literary inventions. It helped me to take notes and jot down the TL;DR at the end of each chapter to synthesize my thoughts. There is a lot of information to absorb, and I used the audiobook in tandem with reading my physical copy (mostly because I'm not a huge non-fiction reader in general so this helped me maintain focus and recognize points I wanted to underline or make note of). After a while, the chapter structure did feel a bit redundant, but I don't think there is anything he could've changed to avoid that. That's just the way these listicle type books work.
Overall, I'm super glad I read this one, not only because it's outside of my comfort zone which I always enjoy pushing myself to read out of, but also because it gave me a little jolt to reframe how I read literature by looking for broader literary techniques and to think about how my brain/mind is affected by the things I read. What emotions does it spark? Why is that happening? What is the author doing to inspire these feelings? I think stories are so powerful, and sometimes you don't need to analyze or explain why you resonate with a particular story. But there's also something cool about recognizing how an author so expertly does what they do, and this book gives 25 (of a multitude) of literary inventions that are pervasive throughout the books we read that are aiding authors in their aim to tell good stories and make a difference in the world.
I first heard about Angus Fletcher from an episode of Brene Brown's Unlocking Us podcast which I have fallen in love with over the last year or so. He was so insightful, and their conversation was shook up my thinking about how I read and analyze literature, both as someone who studied literature in college but also simply enjoys reading and thinking critically about the books I read for fun.
In this book Fletcher explains the historical precedence for literary inventions or tools that we most likely don't think consciously about while reading or don't recognize as 'novel' (ha!) because they are so engrained in our literature today. He goes back and explores what caused their inception as well as the neurological phenomenon that occurs when we experience them in literature. He takes both a historical and scientific view of these 'wonderworks' and then gives examples of them in various pieces of literature so we can see them in action.
It's a quite comprehensive book. Each chapter takes the same structure and in total he touches on 25 of these literary inventions. It helped me to take notes and jot down the TL;DR at the end of each chapter to synthesize my thoughts. There is a lot of information to absorb, and I used the audiobook in tandem with reading my physical copy (mostly because I'm not a huge non-fiction reader in general so this helped me maintain focus and recognize points I wanted to underline or make note of). After a while, the chapter structure did feel a bit redundant, but I don't think there is anything he could've changed to avoid that. That's just the way these listicle type books work.
Overall, I'm super glad I read this one, not only because it's outside of my comfort zone which I always enjoy pushing myself to read out of, but also because it gave me a little jolt to reframe how I read literature by looking for broader literary techniques and to think about how my brain/mind is affected by the things I read. What emotions does it spark? Why is that happening? What is the author doing to inspire these feelings? I think stories are so powerful, and sometimes you don't need to analyze or explain why you resonate with a particular story. But there's also something cool about recognizing how an author so expertly does what they do, and this book gives 25 (of a multitude) of literary inventions that are pervasive throughout the books we read that are aiding authors in their aim to tell good stories and make a difference in the world.
April 4, 2021
This is a long and dense book, but any effort expended in the reading is exponentially rewarded. By the time I reached the end, I felt like I'd absorbed an entire college course worth of knowledge!
The title of this book is a bit opaque. In short, it looks at how in the span of history, there have been literary innovations that have impacted readers or viewers on a psychological and even medical level, and it has the science to back up the assertions. Mr. Fletcher starts off strong with an example of how ancient Greek dramas treated PTSD through specific types of vocalizations and eye movements in a way that contemporary science is only now able to start to explain. It's crazy stuff!
It's not all so clinical. In the course of the book, centuries of literary innovations are explored--things like the invention of the soliloquy or stream of conscious novels. Lots of classics are deconstructed, but there are many contemporary examples shared as well.
To the author's credit, he looks at writers who are not exclusively white, European men. He also looks at non-traditional literary narratives. From Shakespeare's plays, to Alison Bechtel's graphic memoir Fun Home, to Monteverdi's operas, and Tina Fey's 30 Rock--all were innovators who impacted their audience.
As a bookseller, I've always been taken by the fanciful idea of the literary apothecary. Wonderworks illustrates that the idea of finding the perfect book for whatever ails you is not so fanciful after all. This was a completely fascinating book, and should be required reading for all serious readers, writers, and humans--and maybe even people who are all three.
The title of this book is a bit opaque. In short, it looks at how in the span of history, there have been literary innovations that have impacted readers or viewers on a psychological and even medical level, and it has the science to back up the assertions. Mr. Fletcher starts off strong with an example of how ancient Greek dramas treated PTSD through specific types of vocalizations and eye movements in a way that contemporary science is only now able to start to explain. It's crazy stuff!
It's not all so clinical. In the course of the book, centuries of literary innovations are explored--things like the invention of the soliloquy or stream of conscious novels. Lots of classics are deconstructed, but there are many contemporary examples shared as well.
To the author's credit, he looks at writers who are not exclusively white, European men. He also looks at non-traditional literary narratives. From Shakespeare's plays, to Alison Bechtel's graphic memoir Fun Home, to Monteverdi's operas, and Tina Fey's 30 Rock--all were innovators who impacted their audience.
As a bookseller, I've always been taken by the fanciful idea of the literary apothecary. Wonderworks illustrates that the idea of finding the perfect book for whatever ails you is not so fanciful after all. This was a completely fascinating book, and should be required reading for all serious readers, writers, and humans--and maybe even people who are all three.
September 20, 2025
Starting out well, with the first 'published' author whose works have survived. Princess Enheduanna of Ur, circa 2300 BC. Her day job was to be the royal Tax Accountant, but she also wrote poetry, as cuneiform I think. I like this one:
O Feeder of life,
Rising from snake shallows,
Born from a Great Mother,
Light above all.
Cuneiform no doubt encouraged brevity, and baking the clay ensured longevity.
She picked her own name! And worked at the top of the Ziggurat.
Here's the author's article on the book at the Smithsonian magazine, which amounts to an extended preview/advert for his new book: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innova...
It sounds pretty cool. Idea goes all the way back to Aristotle's Poetics.....
Didn't quite finish before it came due. Get it out again? 3.5 stars to where I had to return it.
O Feeder of life,
Rising from snake shallows,
Born from a Great Mother,
Light above all.
Cuneiform no doubt encouraged brevity, and baking the clay ensured longevity.
She picked her own name! And worked at the top of the Ziggurat.
Here's the author's article on the book at the Smithsonian magazine, which amounts to an extended preview/advert for his new book: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innova...
It sounds pretty cool. Idea goes all the way back to Aristotle's Poetics.....
Didn't quite finish before it came due. Get it out again? 3.5 stars to where I had to return it.
September 2, 2021
If you are interested in both writing and science this is an unmissable book. Reading can not just impart information, but can influence the way that we feel. Angus Fletcher describes 25 literary techniques (many also applicable to film and TV), ranging from those known to the Ancient Greeks to modern innovations, that can have a particular influence on our feelings and state of mind. Interestingly Fletcher describes this as technology - devices to make something happen. But rather than being a purely philosophical exploration, what lifts the book significantly is that for each of these techniques, Fletcher describes how studies of the impact on the brain show the physical effects occurring in different parts of the brain as a result.
The chapters (one for each technique) end with a faintly self-help feeling bit - for instance, how you can use the 'clear your head' technique by reading certain texts, but that really isn't the point. This isn't a self-help book, it's a chance to explore the nature of storytelling and how narrative techniques influence the brain. As a writer, I found the storytelling technology part most interesting, but there's no doubt that having the science part gives the whole idea more weight.
Some of the techniques are fairly obvious, and some may be very familiar to those who have studied literature at university level - but there will be some surprises for almost everyone. There's a real feeling of recognition of something that suddenly makes sense (itself arguably one of the techniques). In fact Fletcher, presumably consciously, does make use of many of the techniques in the book itself.
I did have a few small issues. Some of the techniques felt a bit samey - I would have preferred a shorter list with more distinction (it would also have made the book a bit less chunky, as it seemed to go on too long). Fletcher also has a tendency to state as if fact things that are possible but uncertain (or even downright inaccurate). For example, he says that there is no evidence for human pheromones where in fact there is evidence consistent with pheromones, but (if they do exist) the pheromones have not been definitely identified. He also has Galileo looking through telescope at the sun (there is some dispute as to whether he did and his telescope was too weak to blind him or he projected the image) and seems to suggest Galileo was the first to discover sunspots, which he definitely wasn't.
Again, possibly using one of the techniques described himself, Fletcher's language sometimes was unnecessarily flowery, overusing, for example, double-barrelled adjectives. In fact, one thing he really didn't cover, which would have been interesting, was circumstances where a writer who thinks they are cleverly using a technique to influence our emotions or state of mind, instead irritates the reader, or makes them give up reading entirely (I've done this with three books in my time, one of which was a supposed classic) and/or makes them throw the book across the room.
This is a book that is fresh and inspiring. I'd definitely recommend that anyone who writes (or wants to write) should read it, but also anyone with an interest in how the brain is affected by surprisingly subtle influences. A real find.
The chapters (one for each technique) end with a faintly self-help feeling bit - for instance, how you can use the 'clear your head' technique by reading certain texts, but that really isn't the point. This isn't a self-help book, it's a chance to explore the nature of storytelling and how narrative techniques influence the brain. As a writer, I found the storytelling technology part most interesting, but there's no doubt that having the science part gives the whole idea more weight.
Some of the techniques are fairly obvious, and some may be very familiar to those who have studied literature at university level - but there will be some surprises for almost everyone. There's a real feeling of recognition of something that suddenly makes sense (itself arguably one of the techniques). In fact Fletcher, presumably consciously, does make use of many of the techniques in the book itself.
I did have a few small issues. Some of the techniques felt a bit samey - I would have preferred a shorter list with more distinction (it would also have made the book a bit less chunky, as it seemed to go on too long). Fletcher also has a tendency to state as if fact things that are possible but uncertain (or even downright inaccurate). For example, he says that there is no evidence for human pheromones where in fact there is evidence consistent with pheromones, but (if they do exist) the pheromones have not been definitely identified. He also has Galileo looking through telescope at the sun (there is some dispute as to whether he did and his telescope was too weak to blind him or he projected the image) and seems to suggest Galileo was the first to discover sunspots, which he definitely wasn't.
Again, possibly using one of the techniques described himself, Fletcher's language sometimes was unnecessarily flowery, overusing, for example, double-barrelled adjectives. In fact, one thing he really didn't cover, which would have been interesting, was circumstances where a writer who thinks they are cleverly using a technique to influence our emotions or state of mind, instead irritates the reader, or makes them give up reading entirely (I've done this with three books in my time, one of which was a supposed classic) and/or makes them throw the book across the room.
This is a book that is fresh and inspiring. I'd definitely recommend that anyone who writes (or wants to write) should read it, but also anyone with an interest in how the brain is affected by surprisingly subtle influences. A real find.
February 6, 2023
I really loved this book. But I think I’m going to have a hard time explaining what makes this book so remarkable without making it sound boring. I’m going to try, but if you enjoy reading books, chances are you will really enjoy this one even if my review fails to inspire you.
Why do stories move us? What is it about literature that speaks to us and seems to expand our thinking? How does reading (or watching) Hamlet seem to relieve our feelings of grief? How does To Kill a Mockingbird make us feel more connected with humanity?
Fletcher is a polymath expert in both neuroscience and literature, and here he explains some of the specific ways the technology of storytelling has advanced over the centuries, and why these stories speak to our souls.
He likens each of these advances to inventions. Each of these literary techniques affects our psychology in a particular way. Such as the early discovery that an omniscient narrator may feel to the reader like hearing “God’s Voice.” Or how showing the humble remorse of a character can function as an “Empathy Generator.” Fletcher details 25 such inventions, discussing the authors that first utilized them and also explaining why they work—how they speak to our hearts and to our minds. This is where the neuroscience comes in.
After explaining each invention and its initial discovery, he shows the underlying neurological processes that cause the intended psychological effect on the reader. He also provides further examples of its use in other books, television shows, and films.
This book helped me to better appreciate some novels that just didn’t speak to me (Don Quixote, Mrs. Dalloway), and to more deeply appreciate some works that I already enjoyed (Middlemarch, One Hundred Years of Solitude). And of course, also motivate me to read some that I haven’t yet read (My Brilliant Friend, The Left Hand of Darkness).
I have to admit that I initially found the neuroscience sections distracting and somewhat annoying. It is simply not a meaningful insight to suggest that a certain literary technique causes neurotransmitter X to stimulate brain region Y. It provides a veneer of scientific understanding but really tells us nothing useful about how a literary invention (or anything else) works. It’s no more meaningful than saying that we enjoy a story with this particular feature because God designed us to. In fact, the second explanation is likely closer to ultimate truth and is more intellectually satisfying than to simply say that this is just how our brains evolved. [I recommend reading David Bentley Hart for those who wish to dig deeper here] Nevertheless, as the book progressed, there were a number of insights to be gained, although typically these were more from a psychological perspective than from a neurophysiological one.
Despite these minor annoyances, I found the analysis of each of these literary innovations fascinating and enlightening. I learned something valuable in every chapter, and enjoyed it too much to give it any less than 5 stars.
[Edit 2/5/23]:
Here is the chapter list from the table of contents:
Chapter 1. Rally Your Courage:
Homer's Iliad and the Invention of the Almighty Heart
Chapter 2. Rekindle the Romance:
Sappho's Lyrics, the Odes of Eastern Zhou, and the Invention of the Secret Discloser
Chapter 3. Exit Anger:
The Book of Job, Sophocles's Oedipus Tyrannus, and the Invention of the Empathy Generator
Chapter 4. Float Above Hurt:
Aesop's Fables, Plato's Meno, and the Invention of the Serenity Elevator
Chapter 5. Excite Your Curiosity:
The Epic of Sundiata, the Modern Thriller, and the Invention of the Tale Told from Our Future
Chapter 6. Free Your Mind:
Dante's Inferno, Machiavelli's Innovatori, and the Invention of the Vigilance Trigger
Chapter 7. Jettison Your Pessimism:
Giovanni Straparola, the Original Cinderella, and the Invention of the Fairy-tale Twist
Chapter 8. Heal from Grief:
Shakespeare's Hamlet and the
Invention of the Sorrow Resolver
Chapter 9. Banish Despair:
John Donne's "Songs" and the Invention of the Mind-Eye Opener
Chapter 10. Achieve Self- Acceptance:
Cao Xuegin's Dream of the Red Chamber, Zhuangzi's "Tale of Wonton," and the Invention of the Butterfly Immerser
Chapter 11. Ward Off Heartbreak:
Jane Austen, Henry Fielding, and the Invention of the Valentine Armor
Chapter 12. Energize Your Life:
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Modern Meta-Horror, and the Invention of the Stress Transformer
Chapter 13. Solve Every Mystery:
Francis Bacon, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of the Virtual Scientist
Chapter 14. Become Your Better Self:
Frederick Douglass, Saint Augustine, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the Invention of the Life Evolver
Chapter 15. Bounce Back from Failure:
George Eliot's Middlemarch and the Invention of the Gratitude Multiplier
Chapter 16. Clear Your Head:
"Rashomon," Julius Caesar, and the Invention of the Second Look
Chapter 17. Find Peace of Mind:
Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and the Invention of the Riverbank of Consciousness
Chapter 18. Feed Your Creativity:
Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and the Invention of the Anarchy Rhymer
Chapter 19. Unlock Salvation:
To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare's Soliloquy Breakthrough, and the Invention of the Humanity Connector
Chapter 20. Renew Your Future:
Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and the Invention of the Revolution Rediscovery
Chapter 21. Decide Wiser:
Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Thomas More's Utopia, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and the Invention of the Double Alien
Chapter 22. Believe in Yourself:
Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the Invention of the Choose Your Own Accomplice
Chapter 23. Unfreeze Your Heart:
Alison Bechdel, Euripides, Samuel Beckett,
T. S. Eliot, and the Invention of the Clinical Joy
Chapter 24. Live Your Dream:
Tina Fey's 30 Rock, a Dash of
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and the Invention of the Wish Triumphant
Chapter 25. Lessen Your Lonely:
Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, and the Invention of the Childhood Opera
Why do stories move us? What is it about literature that speaks to us and seems to expand our thinking? How does reading (or watching) Hamlet seem to relieve our feelings of grief? How does To Kill a Mockingbird make us feel more connected with humanity?
Fletcher is a polymath expert in both neuroscience and literature, and here he explains some of the specific ways the technology of storytelling has advanced over the centuries, and why these stories speak to our souls.
He likens each of these advances to inventions. Each of these literary techniques affects our psychology in a particular way. Such as the early discovery that an omniscient narrator may feel to the reader like hearing “God’s Voice.” Or how showing the humble remorse of a character can function as an “Empathy Generator.” Fletcher details 25 such inventions, discussing the authors that first utilized them and also explaining why they work—how they speak to our hearts and to our minds. This is where the neuroscience comes in.
After explaining each invention and its initial discovery, he shows the underlying neurological processes that cause the intended psychological effect on the reader. He also provides further examples of its use in other books, television shows, and films.
This book helped me to better appreciate some novels that just didn’t speak to me (Don Quixote, Mrs. Dalloway), and to more deeply appreciate some works that I already enjoyed (Middlemarch, One Hundred Years of Solitude). And of course, also motivate me to read some that I haven’t yet read (My Brilliant Friend, The Left Hand of Darkness).
I have to admit that I initially found the neuroscience sections distracting and somewhat annoying. It is simply not a meaningful insight to suggest that a certain literary technique causes neurotransmitter X to stimulate brain region Y. It provides a veneer of scientific understanding but really tells us nothing useful about how a literary invention (or anything else) works. It’s no more meaningful than saying that we enjoy a story with this particular feature because God designed us to. In fact, the second explanation is likely closer to ultimate truth and is more intellectually satisfying than to simply say that this is just how our brains evolved. [I recommend reading David Bentley Hart for those who wish to dig deeper here] Nevertheless, as the book progressed, there were a number of insights to be gained, although typically these were more from a psychological perspective than from a neurophysiological one.
Despite these minor annoyances, I found the analysis of each of these literary innovations fascinating and enlightening. I learned something valuable in every chapter, and enjoyed it too much to give it any less than 5 stars.
[Edit 2/5/23]:
Here is the chapter list from the table of contents:
Chapter 1. Rally Your Courage:
Homer's Iliad and the Invention of the Almighty Heart
Chapter 2. Rekindle the Romance:
Sappho's Lyrics, the Odes of Eastern Zhou, and the Invention of the Secret Discloser
Chapter 3. Exit Anger:
The Book of Job, Sophocles's Oedipus Tyrannus, and the Invention of the Empathy Generator
Chapter 4. Float Above Hurt:
Aesop's Fables, Plato's Meno, and the Invention of the Serenity Elevator
Chapter 5. Excite Your Curiosity:
The Epic of Sundiata, the Modern Thriller, and the Invention of the Tale Told from Our Future
Chapter 6. Free Your Mind:
Dante's Inferno, Machiavelli's Innovatori, and the Invention of the Vigilance Trigger
Chapter 7. Jettison Your Pessimism:
Giovanni Straparola, the Original Cinderella, and the Invention of the Fairy-tale Twist
Chapter 8. Heal from Grief:
Shakespeare's Hamlet and the
Invention of the Sorrow Resolver
Chapter 9. Banish Despair:
John Donne's "Songs" and the Invention of the Mind-Eye Opener
Chapter 10. Achieve Self- Acceptance:
Cao Xuegin's Dream of the Red Chamber, Zhuangzi's "Tale of Wonton," and the Invention of the Butterfly Immerser
Chapter 11. Ward Off Heartbreak:
Jane Austen, Henry Fielding, and the Invention of the Valentine Armor
Chapter 12. Energize Your Life:
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Modern Meta-Horror, and the Invention of the Stress Transformer
Chapter 13. Solve Every Mystery:
Francis Bacon, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of the Virtual Scientist
Chapter 14. Become Your Better Self:
Frederick Douglass, Saint Augustine, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the Invention of the Life Evolver
Chapter 15. Bounce Back from Failure:
George Eliot's Middlemarch and the Invention of the Gratitude Multiplier
Chapter 16. Clear Your Head:
"Rashomon," Julius Caesar, and the Invention of the Second Look
Chapter 17. Find Peace of Mind:
Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and the Invention of the Riverbank of Consciousness
Chapter 18. Feed Your Creativity:
Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and the Invention of the Anarchy Rhymer
Chapter 19. Unlock Salvation:
To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare's Soliloquy Breakthrough, and the Invention of the Humanity Connector
Chapter 20. Renew Your Future:
Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and the Invention of the Revolution Rediscovery
Chapter 21. Decide Wiser:
Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Thomas More's Utopia, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and the Invention of the Double Alien
Chapter 22. Believe in Yourself:
Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the Invention of the Choose Your Own Accomplice
Chapter 23. Unfreeze Your Heart:
Alison Bechdel, Euripides, Samuel Beckett,
T. S. Eliot, and the Invention of the Clinical Joy
Chapter 24. Live Your Dream:
Tina Fey's 30 Rock, a Dash of
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and the Invention of the Wish Triumphant
Chapter 25. Lessen Your Lonely:
Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, and the Invention of the Childhood Opera
June 13, 2022
Wonderworks is a really odd book and it took me a while to properly put my finger on what was odd about it. Subtitled ‘The Science of stories’ it’s a sort of ‘Dummies/Literature lovers guide to neuro-psychology mixed with a self-help book, a course of reading therapy and its strange language of literary inventions, gadgets and gizmos.
Each chapter starts with a fictional tone, setting the character of our ‘inventor’, be they Aristotle, Shakespeare or Tina Fey. Then the book goes into a description of their ‘invention’, a literary technique with a cutesy name like ‘The Butterfly Immerser’ or ‘Valentine Armour’. Then the book takes a more scientific tone, explaining either neuroscience or psychology behind the techniques effectiveness. Fletcher sticks to this pattern in every chapter, which makes each one an enjoyable journey into a literary technique but gets rather repetitive if reading the book straight through.
I learnt some very interesting things in this book. I learnt that the traditional notion of catharsis is the basis of much modern therapy, by going over traumatic events at a distance, in this case through fiction. I learnt the technical difference between shame and guilt, that shame is about the core essence of a person and looks inwards, whereas guilt is about bad actions of a person and looks outwards. I learnt quite a bit about stress. That there is negative distress but also positive eustress and that the main difference between the two is that the positive one is chosen and accepted whereas the negative feels forced upon us. This means the way of turning distress into eustress is to accept it. I also learnt that laughter lowers cortisol production and is a reaction when a person dismisses a possible danger, which is why something is a tragedy close up and a comedy from far away.
The book faced a problem that’s come up in every book I’ve read of modern neurology/psychology. People seem to have researched and have very clear understanding on whatever neural/psychological system they are studying but there’s never a really clear picture of how all these systems work together. Someone needs to get on a unified theory of brains. The book also glides between neurology and psychology a lot without making it clear when we’re in one or the other. The chapter on science started with information about optics and how we see and then slipped into psychological discussions of the eye without making it clear we’d moved disciplines.
Many of the chapters provided a very interesting (though not always convincing) way of looking at the works discussed. It was most fun when talking about works Fletcher seems to love, like Winnie the Pooh but less so on ones that seemed to engage him less. In one chapter he rags on James Joyce’s Ulysses for providing a strange disjointed train of thought that contained little flashes of consciousness that need to be put together by the reader. He compares this to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway where he describes her style as a genuine stream with a fluid grace that is able to incorporate numerous streams of consciousness. This was a really interesting reading of the two books and does seem to be a way in which the two writers differ. Then comes the needed psychology/self-help element. Fletcher claims that Woolf’s version of the technique has the ability to ‘find peace of mind’, that it has huge positive psychological impact above Joyce’s work. It’s a silly claim to make, especially considering the direction Woolf’s life took. And leads me to my big problem with this book.
Wonderworks assumes that readers are passive receivers of texts, that they take them in and the various techniques of literature activate the brain despite themselves.There’s no space for the notion that texts are unfinished until they are read, that the reader is a co-creator of a text and is indeed the active element of the partnership. What’s more, it reduces literature to a tool, a series of inventions to manipulate the brain with an almost plug-in-and-play quality to it. What’s more, reducing literature to a series of inventions means we’re introduced to a series of inventors. There’s a notion that these were forward-thinking tinkerers of the brain’s mechanics and not people flowing in streams of culture and surrounded by other people trying similar things. That was my ultimate problem with the book, it was reductive, meaning that Wonderworks was surprisingly lacking in wonder.
Each chapter starts with a fictional tone, setting the character of our ‘inventor’, be they Aristotle, Shakespeare or Tina Fey. Then the book goes into a description of their ‘invention’, a literary technique with a cutesy name like ‘The Butterfly Immerser’ or ‘Valentine Armour’. Then the book takes a more scientific tone, explaining either neuroscience or psychology behind the techniques effectiveness. Fletcher sticks to this pattern in every chapter, which makes each one an enjoyable journey into a literary technique but gets rather repetitive if reading the book straight through.
I learnt some very interesting things in this book. I learnt that the traditional notion of catharsis is the basis of much modern therapy, by going over traumatic events at a distance, in this case through fiction. I learnt the technical difference between shame and guilt, that shame is about the core essence of a person and looks inwards, whereas guilt is about bad actions of a person and looks outwards. I learnt quite a bit about stress. That there is negative distress but also positive eustress and that the main difference between the two is that the positive one is chosen and accepted whereas the negative feels forced upon us. This means the way of turning distress into eustress is to accept it. I also learnt that laughter lowers cortisol production and is a reaction when a person dismisses a possible danger, which is why something is a tragedy close up and a comedy from far away.
The book faced a problem that’s come up in every book I’ve read of modern neurology/psychology. People seem to have researched and have very clear understanding on whatever neural/psychological system they are studying but there’s never a really clear picture of how all these systems work together. Someone needs to get on a unified theory of brains. The book also glides between neurology and psychology a lot without making it clear when we’re in one or the other. The chapter on science started with information about optics and how we see and then slipped into psychological discussions of the eye without making it clear we’d moved disciplines.
Many of the chapters provided a very interesting (though not always convincing) way of looking at the works discussed. It was most fun when talking about works Fletcher seems to love, like Winnie the Pooh but less so on ones that seemed to engage him less. In one chapter he rags on James Joyce’s Ulysses for providing a strange disjointed train of thought that contained little flashes of consciousness that need to be put together by the reader. He compares this to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway where he describes her style as a genuine stream with a fluid grace that is able to incorporate numerous streams of consciousness. This was a really interesting reading of the two books and does seem to be a way in which the two writers differ. Then comes the needed psychology/self-help element. Fletcher claims that Woolf’s version of the technique has the ability to ‘find peace of mind’, that it has huge positive psychological impact above Joyce’s work. It’s a silly claim to make, especially considering the direction Woolf’s life took. And leads me to my big problem with this book.
Wonderworks assumes that readers are passive receivers of texts, that they take them in and the various techniques of literature activate the brain despite themselves.There’s no space for the notion that texts are unfinished until they are read, that the reader is a co-creator of a text and is indeed the active element of the partnership. What’s more, it reduces literature to a tool, a series of inventions to manipulate the brain with an almost plug-in-and-play quality to it. What’s more, reducing literature to a series of inventions means we’re introduced to a series of inventors. There’s a notion that these were forward-thinking tinkerers of the brain’s mechanics and not people flowing in streams of culture and surrounded by other people trying similar things. That was my ultimate problem with the book, it was reductive, meaning that Wonderworks was surprisingly lacking in wonder.
July 17, 2021
I received this book as a gift and was excited to read because of the high ratings. I skimmed the book and noticed a chapter on the ancient book of Job which I had studied in the past. The book has 3 main characters, God, Satan and Job and these characters are introduced in the first 2 paragraphs of the ancient text. The author, for whatever reason completely eliminated Satan from the story and then proceeded to attribute all of Satan’s lines to God. After changing the original story, the author then proceeds to conclude the purpose of the story was to “strengthen our neural commitment to justice” which is complete and utter nonsense. After reading some of the other reviews, it appears the author took gross liberties with other famous works as well so be warned that if you value historical literature you may want to review the original works before accepting the assessments offered in this book. Otherwise, if you are not concerned with historical accuracy you will find the book an entertaining read.
April 22, 2021
Literary scholar Angus Fletcher takes a close look at the power of innovations in literature to improve human happiness, and he analyzes these effects on the physical body.
Yes, that's what he does. And my reaction, at first, was exactly like yours. What? I thought.
Then I read it, and I learned how the devices stories use have profound psychological benefits for people.
"The neural leap inside a perpetrator's head...allows our brain to be us while also being someone else."
"(The happiest of happy endings) can energize our inner optimist."
Amazing, right? He looks at paradox and comedy and horror and more, and he learns that all of these have incredibly strong positive effects on us as readers.
I knew there was a reason I feel good when I read.
Yes, that's what he does. And my reaction, at first, was exactly like yours. What? I thought.
Then I read it, and I learned how the devices stories use have profound psychological benefits for people.
"The neural leap inside a perpetrator's head...allows our brain to be us while also being someone else."
"(The happiest of happy endings) can energize our inner optimist."
Amazing, right? He looks at paradox and comedy and horror and more, and he learns that all of these have incredibly strong positive effects on us as readers.
I knew there was a reason I feel good when I read.
March 23, 2021
The concept of this book was super interesting, and as an avid reader and occasional dabbler in writing, I thought it was really cool to explore writing's "inventions". The breakdown as to the how behind why certain books make you feel certain things was just so fascinating and it definitely gave me a different lens to read books through. Definitely recommend, especially for my big reader and/or writer friends!
January 24, 2025
I had been looking forward to this, anticipating fresh insights about the power of narrative. But I put it aside after barely 50 pages. The reason is that I quickly started to distrust the author as a guide in this field (despite dual PhDs in literature and neuroscience). In the first place, I am not so fond of imagined scenes in books of nonfiction. How do we precisely what that priestess in the city of Ur felt? Or what Aristotle thought on this day or that day? Second, I am not convinced that his short retelling of the Oedipus myth was correct/complete. (And did Oedipus thrust golden "broaches" into his eyes, or should that have been "brooches"?). Third, at some point he claims that the ancient Greeks invented a precursor of a current (and somewhat controversial) psychotherapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. This therapy for PTSD consists of re-visiting or re-living traumatic events from one's past, while moving one's eyes from left to right. And what was the Greek version of this? Watching the great Greek tragedies being performed on stage, while following the chorus with one's eyes. (Did the chorus in those tragedies move up and down the stage? Sway rhythmically? I don't know.) The irreverent thought crossed my mind that next time I follow a tennis or ping-pong match I should perhaps force myself to think about difficult events in my own past, and see what effect that might have on my mental health.
Finally, the conceit of talking about "a technology" or "inventions" to talk about narrative techniques again pulled up a flippant memory : of those machines I saw at Fairs in my childhood, where you would put a coin into a slot and pull a lever, and out would pop a plastic egg containing a small poem.
Bottom line: I was not impressed enough to proceed beyond 50 pages.
Finally, the conceit of talking about "a technology" or "inventions" to talk about narrative techniques again pulled up a flippant memory : of those machines I saw at Fairs in my childhood, where you would put a coin into a slot and pull a lever, and out would pop a plastic egg containing a small poem.
Bottom line: I was not impressed enough to proceed beyond 50 pages.
January 28, 2022
Fletcher has never met a sentence he couldn’t complicate or a point he couldn’t bury.
I am unimpressed with teachers who are so enamored by their own cleverness that they don’t notice their once eager learners are now slumped, exhausted after attempting to pickaxe their way through a cement lesson. This feels like that sort of classroom.
Any ‘innovations’ are forced and convoluted, but there *are* treasures. Here’s a nugget of what can be unearthed: he proposes and defends that the romance genre is compelling because of two components—vulnerable self-disclosure and a sense of ‘wonder’ (awe and specialness). Eloquent capture, that.
There are other sparkling veins in this dense mountainous prose: what makes an effective mystery, a memorable villain, etc., but wait for the professor's PowerPoint; they're not worth years of excavation.
As Mr. Armstrong, a reviewer here at Goodreads, wrote, “How can something be so interesting and so boring at the same time?”
I am unimpressed with teachers who are so enamored by their own cleverness that they don’t notice their once eager learners are now slumped, exhausted after attempting to pickaxe their way through a cement lesson. This feels like that sort of classroom.
Any ‘innovations’ are forced and convoluted, but there *are* treasures. Here’s a nugget of what can be unearthed: he proposes and defends that the romance genre is compelling because of two components—vulnerable self-disclosure and a sense of ‘wonder’ (awe and specialness). Eloquent capture, that.
There are other sparkling veins in this dense mountainous prose: what makes an effective mystery, a memorable villain, etc., but wait for the professor's PowerPoint; they're not worth years of excavation.
As Mr. Armstrong, a reviewer here at Goodreads, wrote, “How can something be so interesting and so boring at the same time?”
January 10, 2021
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I read Wonderworks's description, but I love learning about literature through the ages, so I was excited to read it. Beginning in Mesopotamia and traveling to modern-day through 25 "inventions" (themes), Fletcher highlights key shifts or emerging themes that helped shape literature. Some of the selections picked contributed to the feeling that I was reading an upper-division textbook rather than a reference book for book lovers. Several themes piqued my interest more than others but, as a whole, the book dragged and it was a slog to get through. While I am sure readers and writers who love critical analysis of literary themes and motifs will love this book, I am not one of those readers.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.
October 22, 2023
While I’ve greatly enjoyed this book, I’ve rated it 3 stars for a few reasons. First, it requires a near continuous blind belief in the author as much of the work is based on his interpretations and his interpretations alone. (From what I can tell due to the lack of citations or footnotes). In addition, the author claims to take on the perspectives of several individuals for whom their personal perspectives are not readily available. Second, I really enjoyed the inclusions of literary works to further the understanding of the “invention” at the end of most chapters, but some certainly seem rushed and lacking - especially in the last 3 chapters. Finally, while I could easily get lost in the excellent writing and voice (as the author uses many of the inventions in the work), I found some transitions hard to follow.
December 15, 2020
This is an examination of literary inventions through the ages of great use to students of literary devices.
I loved how each section makes a point, but does it in a storytelling voice to tell the history about whichever literary device is being depicted. It's an educations book, yet reads like a book of short stories!
Very interesting book and one of great use for writers and students of literature.
I loved how each section makes a point, but does it in a storytelling voice to tell the history about whichever literary device is being depicted. It's an educations book, yet reads like a book of short stories!
Very interesting book and one of great use for writers and students of literature.
April 25, 2021
As a reader and teacher, I liked this book but I wanted to like it more. Something about the style of writing slowed me down—maybe the narratives that began each chapter? However, it has encouraged me to look at my reading experience in a new light, in terms of the effects a piece of literature has on me and how its creation has led to those effects. I also really appreciate the reading suggestions at the end of each chapter.
April 7, 2021
How can a book be so interesting and so boring at the same time?
Want to read
December 30, 2022Dewey 809
November 20, 2024
Very comprehensive and interesting but not sure it is meant to be read cover to cover. Suggest reading the introduction and preface and then dipping in as you're interested
March 9, 2021
Wonderworks has a unique concept. Let’s look across time and place to find twenty-five literary tools that most impact writing today. Then, show how they began to be used and how they continue to be used today in both books and film. Finally, how you can use the technique in your own writing or even to solve your personal problems. Some of the tools power modern romance and thriller books. Others may be in any genre of book. Some examples are joy, wonder and satire.
It took me a couple of chapters to understand what the author was really “selling”. At first, I thought Wonderworks was literary critique or a lesson in how to critique. But eventually I realized that this book is an invaluable tool for both emerging and established authors. Who can’t stand to learn some new tools, after all? I highly recommend this book. It is chockful of interesting facts. I’m sure I will be rereading it soon. 5 stars!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
It took me a couple of chapters to understand what the author was really “selling”. At first, I thought Wonderworks was literary critique or a lesson in how to critique. But eventually I realized that this book is an invaluable tool for both emerging and established authors. Who can’t stand to learn some new tools, after all? I highly recommend this book. It is chockful of interesting facts. I’m sure I will be rereading it soon. 5 stars!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
March 30, 2021
This was really good.
The only reason for docking it one star: I don’t think the framing of “inventions of literature” really worked. It feels like something either the author fell in love with and couldn’t abandon or that the editor thought would make it more marketable.
The book is actually better thought of us as “the neuro-psychology of literature” which I think is 100x more interesting (and more accurate).
Framed that way, you can consider this the “missing link” between science and the literary criticism - it grounds some of the seemingly ineffable effects of literature in neuroscience in compelling and thoughtful ways.
Read on kindle, probably need a hard copy foe the library!
The only reason for docking it one star: I don’t think the framing of “inventions of literature” really worked. It feels like something either the author fell in love with and couldn’t abandon or that the editor thought would make it more marketable.
The book is actually better thought of us as “the neuro-psychology of literature” which I think is 100x more interesting (and more accurate).
Framed that way, you can consider this the “missing link” between science and the literary criticism - it grounds some of the seemingly ineffable effects of literature in neuroscience in compelling and thoughtful ways.
Read on kindle, probably need a hard copy foe the library!
April 2, 2024
I love the idea of this book and, at first, I loved ths author's turn of phrase, yet I DNF. Why? As an academic specializing in both Classics and English Lit, I found it wildly inaccurate. For example, he claims that the crisis in Oedipus is caused by Oedipus and Jocasta, who gave the baby to a shepherd to take away. Not so. It was the king who wanted to kill his son because of the prophecy that the boy wld kill him. And then the author invents all these strange terms for things we already have terms for. I was baffled by his discussion of Aristotle's Poetics (which I've read and studied in Greek) where he keeps referring to an "invention method." As far as I can tell, this refers to genre. And why give vague cutesy new names to genres that already exist? What he calls the "Hurt Delay" "invention" is simply the genre of tragedy. Even his comments on the Iliad are wildly off base. Eg, he claims it is narrated by God as the 1st word refers to divinity. It doesn't. The 1st word in Homer's Greek is "rage." He's referring to the 1st word of the translation he's consulted, which is completely irrelevant and simply wrong when you're talking about what Homer supposedly came up with. There's no excuse for this kind of sloppy scholarship.
June 2, 2023
4.5 stars
A wonderful way to see literature! I learnt a lot of things and will probably buy a physical copy of it to dive back whenever needed!
I never thought of literature through its inventions and its inventors, so it was really an innovative read for me; plus it made my wish-list explode with new books, and made others, which were already there, climb to the top of my TBR!
It was a slow read, as there were many informations to process; but it didn't spoil the moments I spent with it!
I recommend it to both people who already love literature and those who like to see things has "invented"!
A wonderful way to see literature! I learnt a lot of things and will probably buy a physical copy of it to dive back whenever needed!
I never thought of literature through its inventions and its inventors, so it was really an innovative read for me; plus it made my wish-list explode with new books, and made others, which were already there, climb to the top of my TBR!
It was a slow read, as there were many informations to process; but it didn't spoil the moments I spent with it!
I recommend it to both people who already love literature and those who like to see things has "invented"!
May 12, 2021
I skimmed most of this, read certain chapters. I like the idea of having this book, maybe referencing a specific chapter when I'm feeling that chapter's emotion. See what books are recommended. But to just open on page 1 and keep going is too much. Way too dense for my brain.
Literature as self-help is a really cool way to think about literature -- much more interesting than 'identifying the themes' in English Lit class.
I have added Pride & Prejudice to my Re-Read pile because of this book, but I can't remember why.
Literature as self-help is a really cool way to think about literature -- much more interesting than 'identifying the themes' in English Lit class.
I have added Pride & Prejudice to my Re-Read pile because of this book, but I can't remember why.
September 19, 2021
I couldn’t jump on the bandwagon with this one. It was hugely disappointing to me. I feel like you could make a list of the “inventions” and not lose much of substance. I thought the idea of underscoring literary impact with neuroscience was a cool idea but I felt like - contrary to the stated purpose of the author - that he reduced literature to merely science.
May 25, 2022
This is too gimmicky for me. I started it but after the introduction (and the first example) I found I disagreed with the author's entire premise and there are MANY books that cover a range of books to read (e.g. Michael Dirda's Bound to Please, Fadiman's Lifetime Reading Plan). Moving on...
May 17, 2021
Interesting premise but disappointing in its execution. The writer did a lot of research and captured that work effectively and very likely enjoyed the process immensely but, for me as a reader, it just did not hit the mark.
April 12, 2021
This book combined three topics that deeply interest me: literature, innovation, and (neuro)science. I appreciated the innovative premise of this book: a scientific analysis of some of history’s most enduring works of literature. Overall, did not disappoint, although admittedly, extensive portions of the book read a bit much like a dissertation rather than something to be enjoyed by a non-academic.
March 26, 2022
I loved this very unique and compelling book. I would have liked to consider literature from this context much earlier in my reading journey. There were many powerful insights and I felt I had completed a very rich course in literature by the time I finished. There is so much content to absorb-but WOW, is it worth it! As a side note I had the privilege of participating in a writing class with Dr. Fletcher-he is charming, uber-intelligent and inspiring!
July 28, 2022
Wonderworks is a thorough study of world literature, from mythology, Homer, and Sappho to contemporary literature. Fletcher introduces us to individual developments in literature as inventions. He examines each one and its psychological effects on people.
This book is an excellent choice for all who love literature and like to dissect classics and contemporary literary works.
This book is an excellent choice for all who love literature and like to dissect classics and contemporary literary works.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews