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THE LIVES OF THE NOVEL

Name: THE LIVES OF THE NOVEL
Author: Thomas G. Pavel
ISBN: 978-0-691-12189-5

A HISTORY

by Thomas G. Pavel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2013

These enduring questions infuse this erudite, elegantly written history with passion and urgency.

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Imagined lives and moral ideals are central themes in this revisionist history of the novel.

Pavel (French, Comparative Literature, and Social Thought/Univ. of Chicago; The Spell of Language: Poststructuralism and Speculation, 2001, etc.) traces the development of the novel from ancient Greece to the mid-20th century, with a swift glance at contemporary fiction—an ambitious project for barely 300 pages. Unlike historians who believe the novel progressed in a linear trajectory from its origins in the 17th century, Pavel sees it as an organic form with ancient roots, in which patterns emerge, disappear, recur and evolve. His title has a double meaning: “Lives” refers both to the vitality and variety of the genre and to the lives of fictional characters. Examining a generous selection of mostly Western European and British writers, Pavel identifies a tension between what he calls idealist narratives, in which virtuous characters behave admirably, and anti-idealist narratives, which censure or mock human behavior and feature rogues, tricksters or villains. Within these two types of narratives, the author points out three personality types: “strong souls, sensitive hearts, or enigmatic psyches.” Strong souls, guided by providence, battle adversity to live up to ideals of piety, valor and love. Sensitive hearts, often isolated from their community, find their moral compass within themselves. Enigmatic psyches struggle, and sometimes fail, to understand their own desires and emotions. Pavel marshals evidence from works that he considers the finest examples of fiction from such writers as Heliodorus, Cervantes, Balzac, Defoe, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Fielding and Flaubert. Women writers and Americans make only brief appearances. Despite its Eurocentric focus, Pavel’s study raises questions that can enrich readings of a wide range of fiction: What does it mean to live a virtuous life? How can humans achieve justice? What is an individual’s responsibility to the community? To what extent is self-knowledge possible?

These enduring questions infuse this erudite, elegantly written history with passion and urgency.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-691-12189-5

Page Count: 360

Publisher: Princeton Univ.

Review Posted Online: July 29, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.