Words At Large

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Tough-minded critic James Wood isn’t afraid to say exactly what he thinks, even when fiction’s heavyweights are involved. He’s also widely considered the best book critic in the world.

Wood coined the term “hysterical realism” to describe novels characterized by bloated length, manic characters, frenzied action and frequent digressions on topics secondary to the story. And he’s used it in reference to big, ambitious books by the likes of Salman Rushdie, Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo and Jonathan Franzen.

Surprisingly, in his longer works Wood writes much more about what he loves than what he doesn’t.

Wood is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of three books of criticism: The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief (Modern Library), The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) and his latest, How Fiction Works (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux). He’s also written an autobiographical novel, The Book Against God (St. Martin's Press).

Eleanor Wachtel spoke with James Wood from the CBC's New York studio.

First aired September 28, 2008 on Writers & Company. [runs 50:38]

Writers & Company airs on Thursdays at 11:00 p.m. (11:30 in Newfoundland) and on Sunday afternoons (times vary across the country). You can also listen to the show as a podcast.

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Calling all writers: The 2008 CBC Literary Awards competition is open for submissions in poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction. Entries must be received by November 1, 2008. Go to the official site for details.