Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel
The NYRB Classics editor reads the century through thirty-odd novels, from Machado de Assis to Perec, arguing the form kept reinventing what it could be.
Frank edits NYRB Classics, and reads the twentieth-century novel through thirty-odd books, among them Machado de Assis, Mann, Wells, Carpentier and Perec. His argument is that the form kept reinventing what a novel could be, and the portraits are short enough that the book stays rewarding even for readers tired of the genre.
Recommended by 1 Person
Tyler Cowen
Very good short portraits of various classic novels, including Machado de Assis, Mann’s Magic Mountain, Dr. Moreau, Carpentier, Perec, and others. At this point I am usually sick of such books but this one I stuck with as it is rewarding throughout.
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