Every page of his book brings new insight into the fact that every good book is 'exquisitely and finely wrought,' the product of conscious choice, good will, and energy. It's a pleasure to read, and a pleasure to learn from.
Little of Clark’s advice is bad. And his love for the books is plain. Yet the thing that makes literature great is that it resists efforts to put it to such pragmatic purposes.
Clark’s intent is admirable, his skills as a critic considerable, and the book he’s produced is not without its merits. Although Clark believes, in narrative terms, in the importance of 'showing,' he fails to see how young writers—about to step into a vast landscape with centuries of history—would be enormously grateful to simply be told.
