How Novels Work

How Novels Work by Mullan, John. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780199281770.

Drawing on his weekly Guardian column, "Elements of Fiction," John Mullan offers an engaging look at the novel, focusing mostly on works of the last ten years as he illuminates the rich resources of novelistic technique. Mullan sheds light on some of the true masterworks of contemporary fiction, including Monica Alis Brick Lane, J.M. Coetzees Disgrace, Don DeLillos Underworld, Jonathan Franzens The Corrections, Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Patricia Highsmiths Ripley under Ground, Ian McEwans Atonement, John le Carrés The Constant Gardener, Philip Roths The Human Stain, Jonathan Safran Foers Everything Is Illuminated, and Zadie Smiths White Teeth. He highlights how these acclaimed authors use some of the basic elements of fiction. Some topics (like plot, dialogue, or location) will appear familiar to most novel readers, while others (meta-narrative, prolepsis, amplification) will open readers eyes to new ways of understanding and appreciating the writers craft. Mullan also excels at comparing modern and classic authors--Nick Hornbys adoption of a female narrator is compared to Daniel Defoes; Ian McEwans use of weather is set against Austens and Hardys. How Novels Work explains how the pleasures of novel reading often come from the formal ingenuity of the novelist, making visible techniques and effects we are often only half-aware of as we read. It is an entertaining and stimulating volume that will captivate anyone who is interested in the contemporary or the classical novel.