The Fun Stuff and Other Essays

This is a masterclass in the art of reading. – Robert Murphy * Metro *Wood is the most engaging of current commentators on literature. – John Sutherland * Spectator *Impressive breadth of reading (especially contemporary East Europeans here) and perceptively close attention to texts. – Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *It is a pleasure to follow his education and learn something in turn. * Economist *The gift of the great critic is to be able to explain complex concepts to the reader in a manner that is neither bamboozling nor patronising… Wood has this gift. – Andrew Anthony * Observer *Shot through with his characteristic light humour and moral seriousness, each expertly constructed paragraph rich with metaphorical insight. – David Annand * Sunday Telegraph *The minor flaws here, then, are reassurance that Wood is merely one of the finest critics around. – Peter Carty * Independent on Sunday *All these essays are shot through with his characteristic light humour and moral seriousness, each expertly constructed paragraph rich with metaphorical insight. * Telegraph *This is a book that’s impossible to read without gaining a greater appreciation of what it means to write well, both in the case of the work under review and, just as pleasurably, the reviews themselves – Andrew Anthony * Observer *A passionate and instructive case for great writing. – Johanna Thomas-Corr * Evening Standard *

James Wood has been a staff writer at the New Yorker since 2007. In 2009, he won the National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism. He was the chief literary critic at the Guardian from 1992 to 1995, and a book critic at the New Republic from 1995 to 2007. He has published a number of books with Cape, including How Fiction Works, which has been translated into thirteen languages.

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