Understanding Fiction: Third Edition

by Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren

Ample collection of short stories, with essays, notes and questions for each.

Genres: Writing, Short Stories, Literary Criticism, Fiction, Literature, Criticism, Reference

536 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

Reviews

[Sohail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels more like a course than a textbook. The text reads like what a professor would tell you at the classroom, except it's in book form and accessible to everyone.

On a side note, considering the time this book was published, its 'Biographical Notes' section felt like a journey back in time. Only the birth dates of authors such as Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, and Flannery O'connor were mentioned, without dates of decease.

[Andrew Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me over a year to read this, for some reason. Probably because it's basically a large collection of short stories, and I tend to lose momentum with successive short stories.

I wouldn't say this is a good guide to understanding fiction. Rather, it's a collection of pieces with some interpretive notes, not a framework for analysis. I was left somewhat disappointed when that became apparent.

Still, it's a collection of great stories, with a lot of variety.

[Father Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the commentary on "House of Usher" and its critique of modern horror as a genre.

"The horror is relatively meaningless—it is generated for its own sake; and one is inclined to feel that Poe's interest in the story was a morbid interest."

Wilson's commented on this notion as a type of spiritual "catharsis" on his blog.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“诚然，进行创作只是虚构一个故事而已，但是，不管这种活动自身多么卑微，它却拥有至上的荣誉和荣耀——因为每写一篇小说都需提出新的问题，都需作家经过百般努力，所以它总能使所有人得益而作家自己也有所得……”“诚然，作家在创作时是默默无言的，但是随时都可以感觉到一种力量，这种力量为作家的情感和感觉打开大门，而当那发放出来的冲动达到一定程度时，它就会使作家和读者都不由自主地感到欣喜。生活的世界将像以往一样经久如故，然而小说，若与其他东西相比，将是足够幸运的，因为它可以每日每时地编造并讲述自己的故事。”

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read an earlier edition.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the variety in Understanding Poetry more than this book, but Cleanth Brooks provides an excellent introduction to literary criticism of novels through this work.

[John Niemeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If nothing else, this is a superb collection of short stories, well worth your time even if the academic interludes are trying to some, they can be skipped and this book would still be a winner.

[David Dâng]

三十暝晡讀書。