{"product_id":"the-irresponsible-self-on-laughter-and-the-novel-9780312424602","title":"The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"James Wood has been called our best young critic. This is not true. He is our best critic; he thinks with a sublime ferocity.\"--Cynthia Ozick \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFollowing the collection \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Estate\u003c\/i\u003e--which established James Wood as the leading critic of his generation--\u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e confirms Wood's preeminence, not only as a discerning judge but also as an appreciator of contemporary novels. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn twenty-three passionate, sparkling dispatches, he effortlessly connects his encyclopedic, passionate understanding of the literary canon with an equally earnest and appreciative view of the most discussed authors writing today, including Franzen, Pynchon, Rushdie, DeLillo, Naipaul, David Foster Wallace, and Zadie Smith. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis collection includes Wood's famous and controversial attack on \"hysterical realism\", and his sensitive but unsparing examinations of \u003ci\u003eWhite Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrick Lane\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Irresponsible Self\u003c\/i\u003e is indispensable reading for anyone who cares about modern fiction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJames Wood was the chief literary critic of \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e and is a senior editor at \u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e. His previous work includes \u003ci\u003eThe Book Against God\u003c\/i\u003e (Picador, 2004).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martins Press-3PL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50491674198290,"sku":"9780312424602","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8ba19af6-207c-4b3f-b3b1-94b0fc8e0df9.jpg?v=1730548227","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-irresponsible-self-on-laughter-and-the-novel-9780312424602","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}