Aspects of the Novel

Written by E. M. Forster

Narrated by Deaver Brown

The best literary analysis of novels ever written.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simply Magazine Inc.
• Release date: Jan 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781614969334

E. M. Forster

Edward Morgan "E. M." Forster (1879–1970) was an English novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and librettist. Many of his novels, including A Room with a View, Howards End, and A Passage to India, examine class difference and hypocrisy in late 19th-century and early 20th-century British society. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twenty times.

Reviews for Aspects of the Novel

[markm2315 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Occasionally interesting.(25)

[quondame · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is great! Even without having read all the authors mentioned or even having heard of a couple whose reputations have faded out since 1927 when this series of talks were given, there is so much here! And it is so lightly delivered. Forester does underestimate Austen's capabilities, but then as a man perhaps what he didn't see displayed he assumed didn't exist.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

E.M. Forster's book, "Aspects of the Novel" is fascinating. The book has been compiled from a series of lectures he delivered on the topic. It harks back to a time when writing was lyrical, compared to the things we read today. You must create time to read books like this. I am going to repeat - you must create the time, and not merely have the time. He has covered various aspects of the novel - the characters, the plot, fantasy and more. While doing so, he has also compared how different writers have dealt with these aspects. It helps if you have some familiarity with Dostoevsky, Proust, Tolstoy, Bronte, Joyce, HG Well, Henry James etc. Read the book, because of way he has dealt with the subject, and also because of the sheer joy that you will get from the book.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I remember a time, roughly ten years ago, when I had heard of Forster but never read him. I have now read almost everything he published in book form - and I adore his writing and his sensibilities. This too I adore, and my only reservation about his study of the novel and what works - and doesn't - in literature is that it is too short. Originally a series of lectures, this fine volume scratches at the surface but would have been better at twice the length. Perhaps Forster felt that he had said enough of what he wanted to say, and that it fell to others to continue the work he had begun.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A study of an art form which has remarkable fluidity, and thus, is hard to set rules for....good within its necessary limits. The book has been often reprinted, so it seems of value. The text was first printed in 1927.

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I remember seeing this one on the shelves when I was growing up. I loved flipping through it and reading what Forster had to say about developing a novel (what makes a good one). It contributed to all sorts of imaginations of eventually writing a book one day, and I imagined I would follow Forster's tips. I did write a novel but I didn't use this book. But it holds good memories, and it's E.M. Forster.

[fips-4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is something unerringly endearing about Forster's way of expressing himself that makes this series of lectures on the makeup of the novel so easy to read. His disarming admission of his own unscholarly nature ("True scholarship is incommunicable, true scholars rare. There are a few scholars, actual or potential, in the audience today, but only a few, and there is certainly none on the platform.") puts him firmly on a par with the reader, and his conversational, nay chatty style, opens this little book to anyone who appreciates a good read.

These series of lectures were not an investigation into the history of the novel, nor a prescription of how to write good prose, but an attempt to describe the novel as an art form. Starting from the rather open definition of the novel as "a fiction in prose of a certain extent", Forster tackles a different component each lecture. The story, that satisfies our thirst to find out what happens next, is covered distinctly from the plot, which is the embodiment of our curiosity as to why things happen. He covers a novel's characters, explaining how they can be 'flat' or 'round', and how they differ from real human beings. The realm of 'fantasy', the author's rights in his own universe, are considered, as are matters of pattern, rhythm and viewpoint, with one particularly interesting heading of 'prophecy'.

In terms of whether the book is still relevant, Forster ended his lecture series with some conjecture on what the future may hold for the novel form, whether television would eventually make it even disappear altogether (thank goodness for Riepl's Law). His conjecture that whilst history and society move on, art remains static, is extremely interesting in light of the fact that these lectures were being given at the height of the modernist period, and pertinent works are only lightly touched upon. Furthermore, whilst he provides plenty of written examples, there are of course many references to classic works, which it probably helps to have read, but also references to authors who have been buried by posterity or are no longer so accessible.

On the whole, however, Aspects of the Novel remains fundamentally readable today. It is not a high-brow scholarly affair; rather a well-thought out observational piece, taking a broad look at that vast field of literature we call the 'novel'. Forster makes some extremely astute remarks, and his witty and conversational style bring these across in an easy and comfortable way, that makes you feel his observations are frankly obvious. He does not encompass the full gamut of literary inquiry, but instead picks and chooses to highlight his points and support his argument that there are no fast and steady rules for what defines 'the novel'. This is probably required reading for students of English literature, but it's easy accessibility and thought-provoking titbits should appeal to just about all keen readers with a fascination for the novel form.

[sometimeunderwater · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Feels quite old fashioned now. Two things struck me whilst reading it:1. This is the 'modernism' that all the post- lot were pushing against. When you hear the first half of the debate, the retort makes more sense. 2. At its worst, it reminds me of that excellent line from Michael Scott in the US Office: "There are four kinds of business: tourism, food service, railroads, and sales. ...And hospitals/manufacturing. And air travel."

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Must we murder to dissect? Must we explain why some books are better than others? I suppose. Some of his views I respect, but some of his views on Dickens I can barely tolerate. Valuable in highlighting books and authors I haven't read. The world of 'Classic Literature' really is limitless.

[cecrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hoped one of my favourite authors might have been more forthcoming on how to write quality, especially given the renown of this work. Exactly as the title promises, he shares a fairly straightforward categorization of the essential components/aspects of novel writing. He did put into words some things I only felt instinctively about those aspects, lending my instincts some credence, and labelled obscure others I hadn't identified. I felt the last chapter was strongest where he defines pattern and rhythm, but mostly for its good analysis of Henry James. I don't rate myself anywhere above the 'pseudo-scholar' these lectures were aimed at, but I'm sorry there wasn't more quantity of takeaway. Or maybe I'm just too dense to see it yet.

[baswood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is a great pity that youtube was not around in 1927, to capture Forster delivering these lectures. We have them now in the book form as a series of essays, but they still sparkle with wit, knowledge, common sense and some fine writing. There are some arresting images: the authors all sitting together in a circular room struggling with their compositions, and the gaping shock headed cavemen listening to the story teller, which Forster uses to have a swipe at the film industry "The movie public: modern day descendants of the gaping cavemen."For me it all really comes alive in essays/lectures six and seven, when Forster can let himself go and lecture with passion and imagination about the authors he loves. He says:"For the first five lectures of this course we have used more or less the same set of tools. This time and last we have had to lay them down. Next time we shall take them up again, but with no certainty that they are the best equipment for a critic or that there is such a thing as critical equipment".The lectures he is referring to are Fantasy and Prophecy. He has previously given us the critics tools to discuss aspects of the story, people, the plot and pattern and rhythm, but when he launches into his lecture on fantasy his own writing takes off. He starts with the wonderful image of the ascending bird and its shadow that resemble each other less and less as the bird flies higher, and goes on to say there is more in the novel than time or people and logic, but of course like the birds shadow it is not quite so distinct, not so easy to grasp. There is however a bar of light that can illuminate everything and Forster says "We shall give that bar of light two names fantasy and prophecy.At last Forster can talk about the books and those things that go beyond the tools of the trade to make them special. He presents us with some surprising selections in his lecture on fantasy: Tristram Shandy, Flecker's Magic and Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm. He cheekily includes Ulysses, before ending with the Magic Flute. It is his lecture on prophecy where he gets to talk about those great authors who write on universal themes and who have the power to sing. Forster warns us that to appreciate these authors, we the readers must have humility and the suspension of the sense of humour. He names four authors that he believes can illustrate this aspect of the novel: Dostoyevsky, Melville, D H Lawrence and Emily Bronte with D H Lawrence being the only living author (1927) in whom the song predominates and who has the rapt bardic quality and who it is idle to criticise. Enthusiastically Forster gives us examples from The Brothers Karamazov and then turns his attention to Melville and a lively short critique on Moby Dick is followed by his thoughts on Billy Budd. Forster's prose is at its finest here but he saves his best for D H Lawrence:"Humility is not easy with this irritable and irritating author, for the humbler we get the crosser he gets. yet I do not see how else to read him. If we start resenting or mocking, his treasure disappears as surely if we started obeying him. What is valuable about him cannot be put into words; it is colour, gesture and outline in people and things, the usual stock in trade of the novelist, but evolved by such a different process that they belong to a new world." This series of lectures, that give us the warp and the weft of aspects of a novel and gently chide us as pseudo-intellectuals, come dramatically alive as Forster wrestles with the ineffable. Great stuff.

[thecriticaltimes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you've been working your way through academic papers, college textbooks, etc, then you will truly love reading this clearly written book on how the inner technical aspects of how novels are created. For anyone curious as to how writers go about their work, or if you're just looking for inspiration from a seasoned author, I highly recommend reading Aspects of the Novel. You may not agree with all of the statements but I'm sure they will be illuminating and help you formulate your own opinion on how stories reach us.The first few pages are rather annoying and quite unlike the rest of the book which was created from a number of lectures by E.M. Forster. Usually people use the excuse that complicated things can't be made understood with simple language. Forster demonstrates this can in fact be done and does so gloriously. In this slim little book he gives us his perspective of why stories work and why they touch us. Forster discusses such logical constructs as plot and narrative shape, but he manages to interweave that with a wonderful explanation on how fictional characters live in these strict models. What you take away from reading this is not a deeper understanding of how narrative works or how to create a masterpiece of fiction. Neither will it help you to pick apart a book such as War and Peace but it will form an excellent foundation and guideline to find further readings and understanding.Most importantly Forster leaves every reader of his lectures the choice on what parts of his explanations to accept or reject and he does so himself of aspects of many famous novels. If anything this book provides clarity and a way to start thinking of why we like stories so much.

[jypsyjbook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For the first 30 pages, I was surprisingly annoyed with Forster. But for the rest of the book, I wished I were sitting in an Oxford pub with him, having a lively exchange of ideas. I certainly don’t agree with all of his opinions (such as when he completely disregards novelists’ sociocultural situations—though he describes his idea beautifully: “Empires fall, votes are accorded, but to those people writing in the circular room it is the feel of the pen between their fingers that matters most”), and some of his ideas I began by disparaging but came to understand only in light of later ideas (such as when he describes story as a “low, atavistic form”). But almost without exception, his ideas were fascinating and had merit. That plus his conversational tone (the book is actually a series of transcribed lectures) are what made me wish I were good-naturedly debating with him over drinks.One of his most interesting ideas was that the difference between real people and characters in fiction is that we can never fully understand the secret inner life of our fellow human beings but fictional characters can be fully known to us. He says that the characters we feel are most “real” are not those who most closely resemble real people but those whom the author most fully knows. Not that the author will always explain everything about the character in the novel, of course, but he/she will express enough that the character will give readers a convincing surprise. He wrote a brilliant few pages in which he praises Jane Austen for her characters’ convincing responses to every situation (which is exactly what I love about her).There are a great many more ideas in the book than that one I mentioned above. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to philosophize about fiction, truth, humanity, art, etc. And, if you’re interested, meet me for a drink and we’ll have a good conversation about it.

[wordygirl39 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love, love, love this book. There's a reason this man's work--the whole of it--is considered "classic." He's one of the rare writers who combines humor with deep tragedy--the yin and yang of human experience. If you want to be a writer, you need this book. If you think you understand good literature, you need this book.