On Moral Fiction
by John Gardner
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BasicBooks, HarperCollins (New York): 1978. Trade paperback: viii, 214 pages. ISBN-10: 0-465-05226-6 ISBN-13: 978-0465052264 Suggested retail price: $14.95 (US) Tags: Literary Criticism; Writing Tactical strength: [5/10] |
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My intuition tells me that if I wait about a year and then reread this, that I will have a much higher opinion after my second reading. So far I get the feeling that John Gardner is an elitist snob who has a very narrow definition of art.
For Gardner, Art is an expression of the artist that represents what is true, good, and beautiful. (Definitions and discussions of each of these go on at length.) And Gardner is very explicit about which modern authors are not artists and are truly immoral. His arguments are reminiscent of Plato's Republic, except Gardner carefully states that he would not censor anyone. I did begin to wonder, just who (besides Chaucer, Dante, and Shakespeare) would be on Gardner's recommended reading list, and if there would be anyone from the 20th century on the list. (Surprisingly, Isaac Asimov might actually be on that list.)
I don't want to say too much negative about this book, because I don't think that I read it carefully enough, but I won't be recommending it, for now, to anyone except those who are looking for an interesting discussion on literary philosophy.
