Reading Like a Writer
Francine Prose, , read by Nanette Savard. . HarperAudio, $34.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-06-125656-1
Savard has a pleasant voice, a good vocal range and the important ability to emphasize for clarity and drama. She's especially good at the long and very varied quotes Prose has selected to illustrate the elements of “close reading,” i.e., paying careful attention to words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, character, dialogue, details and gesture (her chapter headings). Prose has taught writing classes for more than 20 years and published 14 books. To be a good writer—or a good reader—she argues, you must develop the ability to focus on language and explore line by line how the best writers use each element of language to create unique and powerful people and stories. She pulls out words and phrases from various authors to show us, for example, precisely how Flannery O'Connor creates “the literary equivalent of a fireworks display” while Alice Munro “writes with the simplicity and beauty of a Shaker box.” This is a an excellent listen that belongs in any reader's or writer's library next to Strunk and White's
Reviewed on: 07/30/2007
Genre: Audio
Compact Disc - 978-1-6651-0265-0
Downloadable Audio - 978-0-06-128737-4
Downloadable Audio - 978-0-06-128738-1
Hardcover - 288 pages - 978-0-06-077704-3
MP3 CD - 978-1-6651-0266-7
Open Ebook - 304 pages - 978-1-908526-14-4
Other - 320 pages - 978-0-06-175189-9
Paperback - 320 pages - 978-0-06-077705-0
