The Fun Stuff

James Wood's The Fun Stuff confirms his preeminence not only as a discerning literary judge but as an appreciator of the contemporary novel. In twenty-three passionate dispatcheswhich range over such crucial writers as Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Edmund Wilson, and Mikhail LermontovWood offers a panoramic look at the modern novel. He effortlessly connects his encyclopedic unders...

James Wood's The Fun Stuff confirms his preeminence not only as a discerning literary judge but as an appreciator of the contemporary novel. In twenty-three passionate dispatcheswhich range over such crucial writers as Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Edmund Wilson, and Mikhail LermontovWood offers a panoramic look at the modern novel. He effortlessly connects his encyclopedic understanding of the literary canon with an equally in-depth analysis of the most important authors writing today. Also included are the title essay on Keith Moon and the lost joys of drumming and Wood's essay on George Orwell, which was selected for the Best American Essays 2010.

James Douglas Graham Wood is an English literary critic, essayist and novelist. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University (a part-time position) and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine.

Wood advocates an aesthetic approach to literature, rather than more ideologically-driven trends in academic literary criticism.

Wood is noted f...

James Douglas Graham Wood is an English literary critic, essayist and novelist. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University (a part-time position) and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine.

Wood advocates an aesthetic approach to literature, rather than more ideologically-driven trends in academic literary criticism.

Wood is noted for coining the genre term hysterical realism, which he uses to denote the contemporary conception of the "big, ambitious novel" that pursues vitality "at all costs." Hysterical realism describes novels that are characterized by chronic length, manic characters, frenzied action, and frequent digressions on topics secondary to the story.