The Irresponsible Self

"James Wood has been called our best young critic. This is not true. He is our best critic; he thinks with a sublime ferocity."--Cynthia Ozick Following the collection "The Broken Estate"--which established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation--"The Irresponsible Self" confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of contem...

"James Wood has been called our best young critic. This is not true. He is our best critic; he thinks with a sublime ferocity."--Cynthia Ozick Following the collection "The Broken Estate"--which established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation--"The Irresponsible Self" confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of contemporary novels. In twenty-three passionate, sparkling dispatches, he effortlessly connects his encyclopedic, passionate understanding of the literary canon with an equally earnest and appreciative view of the most discussed authors writing today, including Franzen, Pynchon, Rushdie, DeLillo, Naipaul, David Foster Wallace, and Zadie Smith. This collection includes Wood's famous and controversial attack on "hysterical realism," and his sensitive but unsparing examinations of "White Teeth" and "Brick Lane." "The Irresponsible Self" is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about modern fiction.

詹姆斯•伍德（James Wood，1965— ），英国批评家、散文家、小说家，曾任《卫报》首席文学批评家、《新共和》资深编辑，现为《纽约客》专栏作家、哈佛大学文学教授，著有《断脉》（1999）、《忤逆上帝之书》（2004）、《不负责任的自我》（2004）、《小说机杼》 （2009）、《私货》（2013）、《最接近生活的事物》（2015）。

译者简介

李小均 ，1973 年生，复旦大学文学博士，深圳大学外国语学院教授。著有《自由与反讽》、《信仰之海》，译有《亚里士多德〈政治学〉中的教诲》、《苏格拉底与阿里斯托芬》、《在西方的目光下》、《攫权》、《语言与沉默》、《薇拉：纳博科夫夫人》等。