Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction by Barrett, Andrea

Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction

Hailed as a "genius-enchantress" (Karen Russell) and winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, the celebrated novelist Andrea Barrett...
$26.99 USD
$26.99 USD
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Author: Andrea Barrett
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $26.99

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Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction by Barrett, Andrea

Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction

$26.99

Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction

$26.99
Author: Andrea Barrett
Format: Hardcover
Language: English

Hailed as a "genius-enchantress" (Karen Russell) and winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, the celebrated novelist Andrea Barrett has for decades reached backward to find inspiration from the past and written acclaimed and prizewinning works of historical fiction. In Dust and Light, the first work of nonfiction of her extraordinary career, Barrett draws from that deep well of experience to explore the mysteries, methods, and delights of the form.

Inspiration found in the past, she argues, can illuminate fiction, just as dust scatters light and makes the unseen visible. Barrett writes of lessons gleaned from the classic work of some of her guiding lights (Willa Cather, Henry James, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf), as well as the work of such contemporary masters as Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison, Colm Tóibín, and Jesmyn Ward. She reveals how she created some of her own beloved works, taking readers on a fascinating journey into some of the largest questions in the genre: How does a writer find meaningful subject matter beyond the confines of their life? How are scraps of history found, used, misused, manipulated, and transformed into a fully formed narrative? And what are the perils as well as the potential of this process?

Building on pieces originally published in leading literary magazines and featured in The Best American Essays, Dust and Light is an elegant exploration of the hazy borderlands of fiction sewn from the materials of history. Filled with profound insights, it will be a delight for any devoted fiction readers, and of great use to aspiring writers too.



Author: Andrea Barrett
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 02/25/2025
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.40h x 4.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781324036500


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2025
Booklist 02/01/2025 pg. 13
Publishers Weekly 03/03/2025

About the Author
Barrett, Andrea: - Andrea Barrett is the author of the National Book Award-winning Ship Fever and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Servants of the Map, among other works of fiction. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Award, she lives in the Adirondacks.

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