{"product_id":"the-irresponsible-self-on-laughter-and-the-novel-paperback","title":"The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Wood\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames 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 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFollowing the collection \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Estate\u003c\/i\u003e--which established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation--\u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of contemporary novels. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis collection includes Wood's famous and controversial attack on hysterical realism, and his sensitive but unsparing examinations of \u003ci\u003eWhite Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrick Lane\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about modern fiction.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames 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 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFollowing the collection \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Estate\u003c\/i\u003e--which established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation--\u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of contemporary novels. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis collection includes Wood's famous and controversial attack on hysterical realism, and his sensitive but unsparing examinations of \u003ci\u003eWhite Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrick Lane\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about modern fiction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInimitable...He has not only a well-tuned ear for prose but a remarkable ability to convey how novelistic language transubstantiates life into literature...Wood's essays...vibrate with the difficult, serious pleasure that literature uniquely provides.--A.O. Scott, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWood writes with such felicity and zeal that one feels neither the inclination nor the possibility of disagreeing with him...[His] enthusiasm provides such an attractive alternative to the truculence of Dale Peck, and the bloodlessness of 'in-house' academic criticism.--Robert McFarlane, \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJames Wood was the chief literary critic of \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e and is a senior editor at \u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e. His previous work includes \u003ci\u003eThe Book Against God\u003c\/i\u003e (Picador, 2004).\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames Wood was the chief literary critic of \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e and is a senior editor at \u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e. His previous work includes \u003ci\u003eThe Book Against God\u003c\/i\u003e (Picador, 2004).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.1 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 01, 2005\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47454127685810,"sku":"9780312424602","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/6842dee991a64dfe1711f101a6db1a69_62dc2486-94c4-4203-9951-2f92be7ac203.webp?v=1778843496","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-irresponsible-self-on-laughter-and-the-novel-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}