On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature

by C. S. Lewis

Walter Hooper (Preface)

“In life and art both, as it seems to me, we are always trying to catch in our net of successive moments something that is not successive . . . But I think it is sometimes done—or very, very nearly done—in stories.”

C.S. Lewis is widely known for his fiction, especially his stories of science fiction and fantasy, for which he was a pioneering author in an age of realistic fiction. In On Stories, he lays out his theories and philosophy on fiction over the course of nine essays, including “On Stories,” “The Death of Words,” and “On Three Ways of Writing for Children.” In addition to these essays, On Stories collects eleven pieces of Lewis’s writing that were unpublished during his lifetime. Along with discussing his own fiction, Lewis reviewed and critiqued works by many of his famous peers, including George Orwell, Charles Williams, Rider Haggard, and his good friend J.R.R. Tolkien, providing a wide-ranging look at what fiction means and how to craft it from one of the masters of his day.

• ISBN10: 0156027682
• ISBN13: 9780156027687
• Publish Date: 1 October 2002 (first published 24 June 1982)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harvest Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 180
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

Although academic in style (and therefore a little dry), I found this book to be really interesting. His ideas about criticism and fairy tales were definitely worth reading and have subtly found their way into my point of view. I like Lewis and even though this isn't his most engaging work, the ideas are well formed, well explained and definitely worthwhile.