John Gardner: The Art of Fiction

The latest book I want to review is strangely enough not a work of fiction. It is about fiction, however, and specifically about writing fiction. I am very interested in creative writing, and lately I've been wanting to devote a little more time to it (what time??). I looked up the syllabus of a few of the beginner's fiction creative writing courses held at my university and found that most of them included this book as their main creative writing manual. I've skimmed through writing manuals before, but this is the first one that I've actually sat down with pencil in hand and read from start to finish - underlining, taking notes, and doing the exercises at the end. I have to say the experience has been extremely rewarding.
First of all, this is the first of the writing manuals I've dealt with that is not primarily a how-to book, aimed at those who want to learn a few basic rules to write a fast-paced, easily marketable piece of fiction in a couple of months. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but usually a few pages in, I find myself wondering whether I would actually want to read the kind of novel or story taught in those books. John Gardner's book is, first of all, extremely well written. I guess this is obvious, since he was also a novelist himself, and I would like to read some of his own fiction in the future. Even if you're not planning on writing fiction any time soon, I recommend checking this book out, simply for the pleasure of reading it. It is just as entertaining as it is instructive, as John Gardner draws on his own experiences as a writer and creative writing instructor to give examples of writing errors and successes. Secondly, it deals with literary fiction, and writing considered as a work of high art with a seriousness that is truly inspiring. I can see why this book would be used in college and even graduate level writing courses, because it is not meant for people who simply want to "mess around and have fun" (e.g. the second chapter is all about truth as the goal of fiction). This attitude determines a heavy focus both on the - shall we say - moral responsibility of the writer and on the detailed explanation of principles and techniques. These are discussed with precision but also a light and enjoyable way and concern not only basic character development, plot and scene structure, but also tone, shifts in psychic distance, metrics and rhythm, clumsiness e.g. inappropriate use of introductory phrases containing infinite verbs etc. Finally, the exercises provided at the end of the book are extremely useful and inspiring. One element that might put off some readers is Gardner's unapologetic judgements about 'good' and 'bad' writing - which don't spare even Hemingway and Faulkner. To be honest, I found this attitude quite refreshing and as someone who believes that fiction should be first and fore most about telling a story honestly I especially enjoyed his good natured jabs at the purely intellectual and narcissistic pleasure of certain post-modern, deconstructivist fiction or metafiction.
If you are at all interested in fiction I suggest you pick up this book, because it is an excellent companion to literary theories and critical works. If you want to develop your writing skills, it is a must-read.