Customer Reviews
An award-winning and serious book from two respected Professors. - By: Mr. M. D. HOPPS, 11 Jul 2008 
To believe `Zen dog's review is to miss the point of this book, although one thing about their discourse is true; this is a specialist text. This is a specialist text for people who are stakeholders in the English Language & it's three disciplines (language, literature & linguistics). It is not for a mainstream readership. This is proven by the disclaimer-esque statement the author's make in the introduction on the very first page, where they explain that some previous knowledge of pertinent terminology & concepts will be useful in getting the most out of this book. Although it is written in such a way as to define concepts so those new to the discipline can also appreciate it with some persistence & effort.
This then is a book where every sentence & every paragraph has to be read & comprehended before moving onto the next. It is also the type of book that could be re-read many times & on each occasion, a little bit more of the authors' work would make sense than it did previously. But they at least recognise that the book is not the easiest of manuscripts to read: "For those who found the first edition of Style in Fiction quite a strenuous read, the new version, if written from scratch, could scarcely avoid being much more so. In reflecting on this we bring the present chapter to a timely end." The closing statements of Chapter 11, Stylistics & fiction 25 years on p304.
If you can do those two things, then you will discover that SIF provides not just an explanation of what style is, but also a methodology for identifying the distinguishing features of style within texts {Lexical categories, Grammatical categories, Figures of Speech, Context & Cohesion). The book also features examples that fit perfectly with the topics in hand & alll are taken from esteemed/famous works by esteemed/famous authors such as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett & Charlotte & Emily Brontë amongst others.
All of which provides you with an increased level of knowledge on the subject of style that will help you to better identify, analyse & appreciate the key features of a text & the efforts & artistry of its author: the next time you read it.
It is also an award-winning publication, having been awarded the "PALA 25th Anniversary Prize (in 2005) for being the most influential book in stylistics since 1980"; which was when the Poetics & Linguistics Association (PALA) was founded.
Dull - By: zen dog, 20 Jun 2008 
How many locative vs. other prepositions are to be found in selected passages of Conrad & Lawrence? A handy three-page chart in Style in Fiction will tell you: it's 20 to 44 & 34 to 18, respectively. In case you were wondering. You weren't?
Well then, how many co-ordinating subjunctions does Henry James use per hundred words? What is the ratio of dependent to independent clauses in his work? Does he exceed the number of modal auxiliaries used in general English? The answer, if you haven't guessed it, is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Let's put it this way: if you have ever asked yourself, "What is the number of lexical repetitions in great modernist literature, crossed-referenced by personal pronouns & demonstratives?", then this is the book for you. Alternatively, I suppose, if you have ever found yourself struggling to look dead clever in a room full of bright but sarcastic undergraduate creative writing students, then you might find this is just the club to pound them with.
There is no doubt that Style in Fiction is a work of deep & detailed scholarship. It is not, however, a guide for creative writers, no matter how many times Professor Snooty-pants brings it up. This is a specialist text, & lay readers will find it has alll the flair of a radio-repair manual. Just as knowing how a transistor works won't guarantee any good music on Radio 1, so does Style in Fiction have little or nothing to do with how to make fiction good, or great. Or touching. Or sexy. Or any of the things we read for. As analysis, it is exceedingly thorough; as a handbook, it is a recipe for plodding.
If you read this book, well, then: you deserve to know everything there is to say about relative norms, & you'll be able to. If that's not your goal, however, you might want to look elsewhere.
A great book for who is serious about writing - By: Giuliana Pitanca Alcantara, 09 Jan 2007 This book was voted by the Poetics & Linguistics Association as the most influential book in stylistics since PALA was founded in 1980. Some of the subjects treated here are:
Levels of Style,
Mind Style,
Rhetoric,
Conversation,
Speech & Thought Presentation.
Both authors are respected authorities in English.
