- Paperback: 510 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press; Second Edition edition (Oct 26 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0198609523
- ISBN-13: 978-0198609520
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 11.7 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,040,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
What is literature? Depending on whom one asks, it's "a drug" (George Borrow); "the question minus the answer" (Roland Barthes); "the orchestration of platitudes" (Thornton Wilder); or "a splendid mistress, but a bad wife" (Rudyard Kipling). These bon mots and over 4,400 others (one-fifth of them new to this edition) are gathered here by Kemp, the fiction editor of the (London) Sunday Times. The quotes, as before, are organized by theme, which include Writer's Block, Morality and Tools of the Trade; Collaboration, Graffiti and Epitaphs are among several themes also new to this edition. An author index makes it easy to find out what Nabokov said about art ("Beauty plus pity-that is the closest we can get to a definition of art") or what Barbara Pym thought of poetry anthologies ("What a bad sign it is to get the Oxford Book of Victorian Verse out of the library"). All in all, this is an edifying and highly diverting resource for any student of writing and language.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
`This is a splendid book, well-organized, pleasant to use.' Sunday Telegraph 19 October 1997
`A decided success; it seems sure to be providing guidance and entertainment for many years to come.' Times Literary Supplement 24 October 1997
`As welcome to the general reader as to writers.' Sunday Times 2 November 1997 (P. D. James)
`An enterprising and very readable book.' The Times 13 November 1997
`A feast that combines comprehensiveness with clarity of presentation.' Mail on Sunday 11 January 1998
`It will be relished by bookish readers and will serve as a wonderful catalyst for writers.' Spectator 20 December 1997
`A decided success; it seems sure to be providing guidance and entertainment for many years to come.' Times Literary Supplement 24 October 1997
`As welcome to the general reader as to writers.' Sunday Times 2 November 1997 (P. D. James)
`An enterprising and very readable book.' The Times 13 November 1997
`A feast that combines comprehensiveness with clarity of presentation.' Mail on Sunday 11 January 1998
`It will be relished by bookish readers and will serve as a wonderful catalyst for writers.' Spectator 20 December 1997
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Educational, Mar 8 2006
By Robert J. Bizjak "Bobzy" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations (Hardcover)
I found this book exceptionally educational and inviting. I recommend this book to any English major interested in literary quotations. The book is organized, concise and easy to follow. This purchase was well worth it!
4.0 out of 5 stars
As far as a book on Literary Quotations goes,this one is pretty good., Dec 4 2011
By J. Guild - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations (Paperback)
When thinking about buying a book on quotations,one has a choise in buying one that is limited to one field such as Military,Science,Humor,Art,Music,Leadership,hit & Wisdom,Ethnics& Cultures,Lawyers,Doctors, etc.such as this one is;or one of a general nature.So,if your aim is to limit yourself to Literary quotes,this is ideal,but would disappoint if it is to be used for quotes in general.One must also keep in mind ,that this an "Oxford" dictionary and the quotations are heavily weighted in favor of British Literature.
As with all quotation compilations;it is always a problem in organizing them or for the user finding them in the book.This book is good in that it has an Index that lists the quotations by Author and another one that lists them by Keyword.To further assist the user the quotations are organized in themes ,alphabetically.
There is also a short section o "How to Use the Dictionary".
For example;under "themes you get Thomas Carlyle,Lewis Carroll Catullus,Censorship,Cerventas,Raymond Chandler,etc.Now, if you look under Lewis Carroll,you will find 2 quotes;one by Ellen Terry,and one by Walter de la Mare.However under "Authors" you will find 15 listed by Lewis Carroll,one being about literature on page 203:5.Now under Themes,Literature has has 95 listings,but doesn't include the one on 203:5.
The point being,even with this much indexing,trying to find or refind a quote can be difficult,so if you find one you might go searching for later ,you'd better have your own method of "tagging it".
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