interrogation report: John Gardner, The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (book review)

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
by John Gardner

Vintage (New York): 1983.

Trade paperback: xii, 226 pages.

ISBN-10: 0-6797-3403-1

ISBN-13: 978-067973403-1

Suggested retail price: $11.00 (US)

Tag: Writing

Tactical strength: [7/10]

John Gardner has a lot to say and seems to use as many words as he can to express himself. Throughout The Art of Fiction, he never tries to mask that he addresses only those individuals who will write "good" fiction -- what I would call artistic or literary fiction -- and not junk or trash fiction. I just hope his fiction is a bit less rambling than his prose (he is a master of the appositive phrase), since -- as it is easy to see from turning to any page in the book -- every sentence, or so it seems, is literally overloaded with distracting commentary. Perhaps we should be forgiving since it appears this book was published posthumously, but in Gardner's introduction, he says he has been working with the text in his creative writing classes for years, so what should we forgive? I just wish he had been as clear as Rust Hills. I'm sure Gardner had as much -- or more -- to say than Hills, but I got more out of Hills because he was plainer. (Gardner may see this as my fault for not being able to read at a high enough level.)

Gardner frequently makes judgments without any supporting foundation, or uses terms without giving a definition. For example: "Every true work of art -- and thus every attempt at art (since things meant to be similar must submit to one standard) -- must be judged primarily, thought not exclusively, by its own laws" (3). And we are left to accept or deny this on its own merit -- once we understand what he said. Just this argument about art alone could occupy a book. So beware. If you are going to read The Art of Fiction, don't think you can approach it casually. Almost every sentence (and at least every paragraph) makes a challenging statement about fiction and its creation.

Another distraction: Gardner will often say, "Nothing needs to be said about . . ." and then will go on for three pages on the very topic he said was so obvious it didn't need to be talked about. (I'm glad he did talk about them, because what is obvious to him is still quite hidden from my novice critical abilities.) But why didn't the editor just fix these situations so we have an introductory paragraph and a discussion of the topic instead of the contradiction?

Enough of these negative comments or you may begin to doubt my rating of the book. Gardner beautifully describes the dream created by fiction -- that state where the reader experiences the events put on paper by the author -- and admonishes us to be very aware of how our writing affects -- or disrupts -- this dream. He also gives the best description of metafiction and deconstruction that I have ever read. All of this material so far comes from part one of the book.

Part two, entitled "Notes on the Fictional Process," presents Gardner's advice about writing where he lists common errors, writing techniques, and plotting methods. Much of this advice can be found in the myriad of books on writing, but often, since Gardner is teaching to the would-be literary writer, he has new ideas about how style and technique can be used to create specific effects that many how-to books never address. But the most interesting chapter, "Exercises," has various exercises for writers to practice. These exercises focus the writer on using various genres, styles, and word choices to demonstrate the effects the writer's choices has on the manuscript. The exercises embody all the points that Gardner tried to make clear in part one that may have been to wordy to understand. Thus, the exercises help the writer focus on the various effects that fiction can achieve as well as solidify some of the ideas that Gardner discusses in the text.

To me the primary message of a book should be apparent on the first reading. If you then want to reread the book for a deeper understanding, then you should. But with Gardner's book, much of the primary message is somewhat cryptic and difficult to extract without rereading. On this basis, I have a hard time recommending this book to aspiring writers, but wading through Gardner's prose is probably worth the time spent.

I took my own advice and reread The Art of Fiction, this time more slowly and carefully. Many of the problems I found in my first review I didn't even notice in a second reading. Maybe I am just more familiar with Gardner's style, but I think one should read this book slowly, like a textbook rather than a standard self-help book.

One point that I seemed to miss in my first review is about technique. Gardner says that he can't help genius -- you're either born with it or not -- but he can teach technique. The second half of his book focuses on the techniques that a writer should master. He believes that even beginning students can write excellent pieces if given a narrow enough assignment on a single technique, and that this success will breed further success. After mastering each technique, the writer will then be able to use all of these techniques in harmony as they are needed.

I no longer hesitate to recommend this book. In fact, I will recommend this and Rust Hills's book to anyone who says they want to learn about becoming a writer.

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