Length12h 20m
About this audiobook
A new, far-ranging collection of essays from "the strongest…literary critic we have." (New York Review of Books)
Following The Broken Estate, The Irresponsible Self, and How Fiction Works—books that established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation—The Fun Stuff confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of the contemporary novel. In twenty-five passionate, sparkling dispatches—which range over such crucial writers as Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy, Edmund Wilson, and Mikhail Lermontov—Wood offers a panoramic look at the modern novel. He effortlessly connects his encyclopedic, passionate understanding of the literary canon with an equally in-depth analysis of the most important authors writing today, including Cormac McCarthy, Lydia Davis, and Aleksandar Hemon.
Included in The Fun Stuff is the title essay on Keith Moon and the lost joys of drumming—which was a finalist for last year's National Magazine Awards—as well as Wood's essay on George Orwell, which Christopher Hitchens selected for The Best American Essays 2010. The Fun Stuff is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about contemporary literature.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (543)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing
GenreLiterary Classics
Length12 hrs 20 mins
Narrated bySimon Vance
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateOct 30, 2012
LanguageEnglish
More from James Wood
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
You may also like
ImmortalityMilan Kundera11h 54m4.2 (50.9K)$29 · $0.00
Mrs DallowayVirginia Woolf7h 48m4.0 (346.6K)$5 · $0.00
The Sound and the FuryWilliam Faulkner11h 55m4.0 (230.4K)$2 · $0.00
Should We Stay or Should We GoLionel Shriver10h 13m3.7 (9.7K)$29 · $0.00
My WorkOlga Ravn7h 33m3.9 (4.4K)$32 · $0.00
The Bishop and Other StoriesAnton Pavlovich Chekhov8h 10m4.1 (597)$2.30 · $0.00
What to Read and WhyFrancine Prose10h 14m3.9 (1.5K)$29 · $0.00
Mrs Craddock (Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham12h 34m3.9 (2K)$2 · $0.00
The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Studies in PessimismArthur Schopenhauer3h 14m4.1 (3.9K)$2.30
Alexander’s BridgeWilla Cather3h 7m3.6 (5K)$0.60 · $0.00
The Professor's HouseWilla Cather6h 27m3.9 (14.8K)$2.30
Tragic Sense Of Life Miguel de Unamuno10h 28m4.2 (3.4K)Free
Collected StoriesSaul Bellow26h 5m4.1 (1.2K)$30
Family PicturesSue Miller17h 55m3.7 (7.5K)$40 · $0.00
Between ThemRichard Ford3h 37m3.7 (3.3K)$18 · $0.00
A Farewell to Gabo and MercedesRodrigo Garcia2h 16m4.3 (3.2K)$16 · $0.00
My Lady Nicotine A Study in SmokeJ. M. Barrie5h 6m3.8 (1.5K)$2.30
The Captain's Death Bed, and other Essays (Annotated)Virginia Woolf9h 5m3.8 (55)$2 · $0.00
The Twilight of the SoulsLouis Marie-Anne Couperus9h 13m4.0 (156)$1 · $0.00
A Dreary StoryAnton Chekhov2h 33m$2.30