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1 Burnside Literary History- General

This title in other editions

The Novel: An Alternative History

by Steven Moore

The Novel: An Alternative History Cover

ISBN13: 9781441177049
ISBN10: 1441177043
Condition:
All Product Details

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Review-A-Day

"You might expect a heavily footnoted 700-page history of the novel up to 1600 to be anything but readable, gripping, and enjoyable, but The Novel is all of those things — immensely so. After suggesting and rejecting definitions for 'novel' (including his own, 'the novel is essentially a delivery system for aesthetic bliss'), Moore finally concedes that he'd 'rather let authors show me what a novel can be than to impose a definition on them.'" Scott Bryan Wilson, Rain Taxi (Read the entire Rain Taxi review)

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Encyclopedic in scope and heroically audacious, The Novel: An Alternative History is the first attempt in over a century to tell the complete story of our most popular literary form. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the novel did not originate in 18th-century England, nor even with Don Quixote, but is coeval with civilization itself.

After a pugnacious introduction, in which Moore defends innovative, demanding novelists against their conservative critics, the book relaxes into a world tour of the premodern novel, beginning in ancient Egypt and ending in 16th-century China, with many exotic ports-of-call: Greek romances; Roman satires; medieval Sanskrit novels narrated by parrots; Byzantine erotic thrillers; 5000-page Arabian adventure novels; Icelandic sagas; delicate Persian novels in verse; Japanese war stories; even Mayan graphic novels. Throughout, Moore celebrates the innovators in fiction, tracing a continuum between these premodern experimentalists and their postmodern progeny.

Irreverent, iconoclastic, informative, entertaining — The Novel: An Alternative History is a landmark in literary criticism that will encourage readers to rethink the novel.

Review:

"Most literature courses begin the study of the novel in seventeenth century England. But Moore's exhaustive history of the form shows that it started far earlier than that. Moore meticulously explores its evolution as far back as 2000 BC Egypt, proving not only that the novel is a much older invention than previously thought, but that its origins are barely European. This treatise will come as a welcome addition to the library of any literature enthusiast, who will eagerly pour through the critical analysis, commentary, and well written plot summaries and use it as a springboard for their own reading lists. Moore's irreverent and thoughtful style will appeal to readers who want to be challenged by what they read; readers looking for spoon-feeding should look elsewhere. The author's quick dismissal religion and other organized beliefs can be forgiven in light of the incredible breadth of knowledge about these works that he brings to this book. Moore has done such a superb job that readers will be eager for volume two the moment they put the book down." Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Review:

"Moore identifies and discusses novels from the ancient, medieval, Renaissance, Eastern, and Far Eastern worlds. He writes authoritatively and enthusiastically about 'the various forms and permutations of the novel' and seeks to 'demonstrate the genre's age and infinite variety.' [...] Moore is serious in his effort to produce a useful work for the general reader. Recommended especially for literature students as well as curious laypersons seeking information and entertainment." Library Journal

Review:

"Good humour to be found in every paragraph. If he’s not careful, this man could give scholarship a good name." South Belfast News

Synopsis:

A comprehensive history and controversial reappraisal of the world's most popular and innovative literary form.
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About the Author

Steven Moore (Ph.D. Rutgers, 1988) is the author of several books and essays on modern literature. From 1988 to 1996 he was managing editor of the Review of Contemporary Fiction/Dalkey Archive Press, and for decades has reviewed books for a variety of journals and newspapers, principally the Washington Post. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where is he is working on the next installment of this history.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Danielle Mayabb, September 15, 2010 (view all comments by Danielle Mayabb)
This work is a very thorough look at pieces of literature that aren't traditionally classified as novels. And even though Moore is an academic, he writes in clear prose that makes this book very accessible to any reader, and compulsively readable. Instead of making this a literary criticism-leaning work, Moore has chosen the route of a survey and has done so passionately. I would even put him in the category of "creative criticism". His enthusiasm for this literature that is not typically well-known is inspiring. And his humor in many places is refreshing. I'm looking forward to the second installment of this history for these reasons.

Something that was bothersome was the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien's name is misspelled not once, but all throughout the book and in the index. Tolkien was not as obscure as most of the authors and works Moore is discussing so the error seems careless. And I realize this may not be Moore's fault entirely, but a work such as this deserves careful editing. How many other errors like this are in the text that may go unnoticed because of the relative obscurity of the works covered?

The only thing that really bothered me was Moore's treatment of religion. He is right to include books from the Bible and other faiths as novels--he has good critical and historical ground to do so--but he goes a little too far in denigrating those who choose to believe in these texts. In the section on Eastern novels, he goes so far as to say a particular ideology is "bull*#$@". Moore is entitled to be a bitter atheist, but it seems out of place in a history of the novel to be so belligerent when such vitriol is not necessary to our understanding of the novels he is discussing. Moore comes off as an adolescent who has just bested his lifelong bully. Moore's book would have lost nothing by the exclusion of such opinions. Many novels and stories have devoted followers--look at Star Trek, for example, or the dedicated fans of Ulysses who make the pilgrimage to Dublin to celebrate Bloomsday--but Moore does not lash out at them. The stories in the sacred texts are just as compelling to some people as the writings of William Gaddis are to Moore, so it is in poor taste to poke fun and be condescending. One of the reviews above forgives Moore this fault in favor of the larger work, but I really think the larger work would be better without the religion-bashing. Being respectful will always gain you more respect than not. And, Mr. Moore, if you don't have anything nice to say, perhaps you should refrain from saying anything. Stick to the literature you are so passionate about.



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Product Details

ISBN:
9781441177049
Author:
Moore, Steven
Publisher:
Continuum
Subject:
General
Subject:
Semiotics & Theory
Subject:
Literary Criticism : General
Publication Date:
20100431
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
698
Dimensions:
10.10x5.88x2.04 in. 2.76 lbs.
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Related Aisles

The Novel: An Alternative History Sale Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$24.95 In Stock
Product details 698 pages Continuum - English 9781441177049 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Most literature courses begin the study of the novel in seventeenth century England. But Moore's exhaustive history of the form shows that it started far earlier than that. Moore meticulously explores its evolution as far back as 2000 BC Egypt, proving not only that the novel is a much older invention than previously thought, but that its origins are barely European. This treatise will come as a welcome addition to the library of any literature enthusiast, who will eagerly pour through the critical analysis, commentary, and well written plot summaries and use it as a springboard for their own reading lists. Moore's irreverent and thoughtful style will appeal to readers who want to be challenged by what they read; readers looking for spoon-feeding should look elsewhere. The author's quick dismissal religion and other organized beliefs can be forgiven in light of the incredible breadth of knowledge about these works that he brings to this book. Moore has done such a superb job that readers will be eager for volume two the moment they put the book down." Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)
"Review A Day" by , "You might expect a heavily footnoted 700-page history of the novel up to 1600 to be anything but readable, gripping, and enjoyable, but The Novel is all of those things — immensely so. After suggesting and rejecting definitions for 'novel' (including his own, 'the novel is essentially a delivery system for aesthetic bliss'), Moore finally concedes that he'd 'rather let authors show me what a novel can be than to impose a definition on them.'" (Read the entire Rain Taxi review)
"Review" by , "Moore identifies and discusses novels from the ancient, medieval, Renaissance, Eastern, and Far Eastern worlds. He writes authoritatively and enthusiastically about 'the various forms and permutations of the novel' and seeks to 'demonstrate the genre's age and infinite variety.' [...] Moore is serious in his effort to produce a useful work for the general reader. Recommended especially for literature students as well as curious laypersons seeking information and entertainment."
"Review" by , "Good humour to be found in every paragraph. If he’s not careful, this man could give scholarship a good name."
"Synopsis" by , A comprehensive history and controversial reappraisal of the world's most popular and innovative literary form.
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