The Sound on the Page: Style and Voice in Writing

From Booklist
Yagoda begins his penetrating, historically based inquiry into the allure of literature with a deceptively simple premise: "Style matters." But what exactly do we mean by style? And how does style relate to voice? Yagoda, the notably lucid author of About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made (2000), establishes two stylistic poles: the "transparent" prose advocated by Strunk and White's Elements of Style and style as self-expression and the embodiment of a moral viewpoint. Seeking understanding of a "middle style" that combines the best of both, Yagoda--splendidly well read, inquisitive, and perceptive--spoke with 40 diverse writers about style and voice, and excerpts from his interviews with the likes of Harold Bloom, Toni Morrison, Elmore Leonard, Gish Jen, Dave Barry, Ann Beattie, and Billy Collins enliven his cogent running commentary with revelations of everything from whether writers use pens or computers to how a writer strikes a balance between spoken and written language. In sum, Yagoda has forged a sophisticated and scintillating writer's resource in sync with today's thriving MFA writing programs. Donna Seaman
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Billy Collins
"...the right mix of seriousness and wit, anecdote and insight."

Ann Beattie
"...offers not only the author’s amazingly informative narrative, but points us toward...the trial and error inherent in creativity."

Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and Secret Parts of Fortune
"[Ben Yagoda] is witty and offhandedly erudite and unafraid to read between the lines..."

Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo
"This is an ingenious and memorable exploration of writing’s soul..."

Wall Street Journal
"Ben Yagoda [is] the best kind of close reader, attentive to writerly choices that most of us take for granted."

Library Journal
"This entertaining and instructive book should be part of any writing collection."

Philadelphia Inquirer
"A shrewd, welcome meditation on literary style… that rarest of tomes: a splendidly written book about writing."

Chicago Tribune
"A stylish exploration of developing a distinctive voice and writing style."

Book Description

Over the course of his career, acclaimed author, teacher, and critic Ben Yagoda has uncovered one certain truth about writing: "Style matters." Indeed, it is frequently the case that our favorite writers entertain, move, and inspire us less by what they say than by how they say it.

Most books, including Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style, take a narrow view of style, suggesting that the only proper one is of plainness, simplicity, and transparency. But tell that to David Foster Wallace, Dave Eggers, Don DeLillo, and other stylistic risk takers!

While not a "how-to" manual, The Sound on the Page offers practical and incisive help for writers on identifying and developing a distinctive style and voice. Drawing on interviews with more than forty authors -- Tobias Wolff, Elmore Leonard, Michael Chabon, Cristina García, Dave Barry, Camille Paglia, Junot Díaz, Margaret Drabble, and Bill Bryson among them -- Yagoda discusses: Conscious and unconscious ways writers approach style, from Bebe Moore Campbell on her pointed use of Black English to Christopher Hitchens's penchant for adverbs
The influence of writers on writers, including Susan Orlean on Ian Frazier, James Wolcott on Manny Farber, and Frank Kermode on William Empson
The impact of tools on style, featuring Cynthia Ozick and Harold Bloom grumbling in harmony about the word processor and its discontents

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Over the course of his career, acclaimed author, teacher, and critic Ben Yagoda has uncovered one certain truth about writing: "Style matters." Indeed, it is frequently the case that our favorite writers entertain, move, and inspire us less by what they say than by how they say it.

Most books, including Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style, take a narrow view of style, suggesting that the only proper one is of plainness, simplicity, and transparency. But tell that to David Foster Wallace, Dave Eggers, Don DeLillo, and other stylistic risk takers!

While not a "how-to" manual, The Sound on the Page offers practical and incisive help for writers on identifying and developing a distinctive style and voice. Drawing on interviews with more than forty authors -- Tobias Wolff, Elmore Leonard, Michael Chabon, Cristina Garcia, Dave Barry, Camille Paglia, Junot Diaz, Margaret Drabble, and Bill Bryson among them -- Yagoda discusses: Conscious and unconscious ways writers approach style, from Bebe Moore Campbell on her pointed use of Black English to Christopher Hitchens's penchant for adverbs, The influence of writers on writers, including Susan Orlean on Ian Frazier, James Wolcott on Manny Farber, and Frank Kermode on William Empson, The impact of tools on style, featuring Cynthia Ozick and Harold Bloom grumbling in harmony about the word processor and its discontents.

Filled with insights from outstanding writers and close readings of their works, The Sound on the Page is an essential book for all aspiring and experienced writers, as well as for readers who are interested in learning how their favorite writers approach the craft.

FROM THE CRITICS

Richard Eder - The New York Times

What is fresh and engaging is the struggle. Like Fabrice in The Charterhouse of Parma, the author makes his way through the Battle of Waterloo ￯﾿ﾽ its literary equivalent, that is ￯﾿ﾽ and comes away not with grand strategies, though in his case he attempts them, but with the enduring life of particular and obstinately colliding details.

Library Journal