The Western Lit Survival Kit: How to Read the Classics Without Fear

Author: Newman, Sandra

Brand: Penguin Random House

Binding: paperback

Number Of Pages: 320

Release Date: 05-04-2012

Part Number: 1

Details: Product Description


There they sit, the great tomes of classical literature, taunting you with their length and difficulty, as you ask: which books are the most important and why - and what's actually any good? Why does most writing about the classics have words like 'seminal' or 'oeuvre' in it? What does postmodernism mean? Can I get away with just reading the introduction?Now you can enjoy the classics without fear. This survival kit will guide you painlessly through the Western literary canon, century by century: from Ancient Greek drama to the modern novel, via Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, Tolstoy and Proust. There are entertaining plot summaries, unpretentious definitions of literary movements and fresh insights into authors' lives. With each work assigned ratings from 1 to 10 on Importance, Accessibility and Fun, you'll discover what's really worth bothering with and what you can safely discard without guilt.This book will make the things you've read clearer, inspire you to tackle the ones you've always meant to and make you sound far cleverer than you really are.


Review


Heavens, what a joy this book is... It is extremely funny -- Lynne Truss [Praise for HOW NOT TO WRITE A NOVEL]

Pick up this clever (and useful) guide -- [Praise for READ THIS NEXT] ―
Chicago Tribune


About the Author


Sandra Newman is the author of
Cake and
The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done, and a memoir,
Changeling. She is co-author of the bestselling
How Not to Write a Novel and
Read This Next. Newman lives in Brooklyn.

EAN: 9780141044521

Package Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches

Languages: English