A Spectator Best Book of the Year For anyone who has ever identified with a character from fiction, been seduced by a first sentence or been profoundly moved by a story's end, How to Write Like Tolstoy is a wonderful and illuminating journey into the minds and imaginations of the world's greatest writers. What made Nabokov choose the name Lolita? Why did Fitzgerald tell The Great Gatsby in the first person? How did Kerouac, who raged against revision, finally come to revise On the Road? Why did Martin Amis give up on writing about sex? Veteran editor Richard Cohen draws on a vast and eclectic reservoir of knowledge to reveal what makes good prose soar. From plot and character development to dialogue and point of view, the motivations, obsessions, tricks and talents of a host of great novelists are brought to the fore, their published works mined and private beliefs unearthed. There's the nature of originality as plagiarism is discussed, and a weighing of the odds when trying to write about physical intimacies. And how to begin...Or end? From first page to last, How to Write Like Tolstoy is a unique exploration of the act and art of writing, one which enriches our experience of reading both the classics and the best modern fiction, and provokes in us an overwhelming urge to read and to write.
A Spectator Best Book of the Year For anyone who has ever identified with a character from fiction, been seduced by a first sentence or been profoundly moved by a story's end, How to Write Like Tolstoy is a wonderful and illuminating journey into the minds and imaginations of the world's greatest writers. What made Nabokov choose the name Lolita? Why did Fitzgerald tell The Great Gatsby in the first person? How did Kerouac, who raged against revision, finally come to revise On the Road? Why did Martin Amis give up on writing about sex? Veteran editor Richard Cohen draws on a vast and eclectic reservoir of knowledge to reveal what makes good prose soar. From plot and character development to dialogue and point of view, the motivations, obsessions, tricks and talents of a host of great novelists are brought to the fore, their published works mined and private beliefs unearthed. There's the nature of originality as plagiarism is discussed, and a weighing of the odds when trying to write about physical intimacies. And how to begin...Or end? From first page to last, How to Write Like Tolstoy is a unique exploration of the act and art of writing, one which enriches our experience of reading both the classics and the best modern fiction, and provokes in us an overwhelming urge to read and to write.
A Spectator Best Book of the Year and a charming, eloquent love letter to the stories we adore
Richard Cohen is the former publishing director of Hutchinson and Hodder & Stoughton and the founder of Richard Cohen Books. A five-time national sabre champion, he has represented Britain in fencing at four Olympics. The author of Chasing the Sun and By the Sword, he lives in New York.
‘Provides amazing insight into the working methods, techniques,
tricks and flaws of some of the greatest writers in literary
history…An engrossing read for bibliophiles and lovers of
literature as much as aspiring writers.’
*New European*
‘This book is a wry, critical friend to both writer and reader. It
is filled with cogent examples and provoking statements. You will
agree or quarrel with each page, and be a sharper writer and reader
by the end.’
*Hilary Mantel*
‘A glorious patchwork of quotation and anecdote. It is a true
commonplace book, the homage of a passionate reader to the writers
who have provided his “main pastime”.’
*Sunday Times*
‘Welcome, wise and witty…Aspiring writers will glean excellent
advice here.’
*Literary Review*
‘I very much enjoyed Richard Cohen’s How to Write Like Tolstoy’
*Spectator, Books of the Year*
‘An anecdotal, breezy and comprehensive approach…an entertainingly
slick read.'
*Herald*
‘The highest compliment one can pay How to Write Like Tolstoy is
that it provokes an overwhelming urge to read and write.’
*Wall Street Journal*
‘A book for the general reader as much as the aspiring
novelist.’
*Tablet*
‘Interesting, charming, and engaging…Cohen reveals the
possibilities that lie in wait when authors practice selection and
intention, sparking the literary imagination.’
*Library Journal, starred review*
‘An inspiring book! It makes one glad to be a writer.’
*Fay Weldon*
‘Elegant... Cohen [tells] amusing, often discursive stories about
great literature and authors, mixed with the writers’ own
observations, which he hopes will further inspire readers and
would-be writers. The advice is pleasant, and sometimes wise.’
*Publishers Weekly*
‘Insightful… [Cohen] escorts his readers to Iris Murdoch for sage
counsel on launching a novel, to Salman Rushdie for shrewd guidance
on developing an unreliable narrator, to Rudyard Kipling for a
cagey hint on creating memorable minor characters, and to Leo
Tolstoy for a master’s help in transforming personal experience
into fictional art. Even readers with no intentions of writing a
novel will relish the opportunity to join their favourite authors
at the workbench.’
*Booklist*
‘Cohen’s myriads of examples are lush and instructive... he is a
generous tour guide through his literary world’
*Kirkus Reviews*
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