The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief (Modern Library Paperbacks)

While polemos is a frequent pose for Wood, I never felt that it was a pose taken serendipitously, arguing for the sake of arguing. One can plainly see the struggle in his lines, the wrestling with both preferred authors (Woolf, Sebald, Mann) and roguish ones (Updike, Pynchon, Morrison, DeLillo, Steiner). In that sense, he remains the heir to the Johnsonian legacy of encomiastic criticism. Though I may disagree at times, I am grateful for Wood's brave and necessary polemics. In fact, so impressed am I with Wood's essays that I will often secretly read The New Republic (which I in general find distateful) solely for his contributions. The New Republic is lucky to have him; we are lucky to be living at a time when he is writing.


Brilliant and passionate: criticism at its finest   April 30, 1999
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

James Wood is a critic of the highest order, whose passionate engagement with literature is evident in every single essay in this magnificent collection. His sentences are gorgeous, his readings of an inspiring astuteness, and his metaphors scintillating. He is opinionated, to be sure; but even if you disagree with some of his judgments, you will feel only inspired and invigorated by these essays. If you care deeply about literature, you can't afford not to read this book.


a banquet for word-lovers   July 19, 1999
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Wood weilds words with rapier accuracy. This is criticism at its most entirely satisfying. The essays in this volume reignite the reader's fire; reintroducing authors who are old but perhaps long-neglected friends, forcing reconsideration of writers one has never admired. Full of fresh insight and delicious pleasures.


If fiction intimidates you, use this book to light your way.   August 1, 1999
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

Good sense of humor on serious subjects. The author describes what fiction does and why we should care about it. Maybe he's a critic, but he's really just someone who thinks and writes clearly about literature. Really articulate. Lots of verbal flourish. The Woolf and Sebald essays are keepers, sort of like Fiction 101.


repetitive to say...but brilliant   May 18, 2004
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

Criticism for people who want to read something smart and insightful about books. It's a book for those who appreciate thinking long and deep about literature, who appreciate being introduced to aspects of language and content they may never have previously considered, who take literature seriously and feel no need to apologize for it. There simply is no critic writing today as consistently well about literature as Mr. Wood and this book is a perfect introduction to why he has acquired such a reputation at such a comparatively young age. You may find yourself disagreeing but you will be forced to think hard as to why.