Angus Fletcher: Wonderworks. The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature

Abstract

07/12/21 1:03 PM Style, Vol. 55, No. 4, 2021. Copyright © 2021 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA DOI: 10.5325/style.55.4.0512 Angus Fletcher’s strikingly original book is a pleasure to read. It offers a wide-ranging reflection on literature’s power to heal the human mind’s distress and lead it on the path to wise self-assurance. In order to reach this praiseworthy end, Fletcher inspects the three main purposes of literature, to instruct, to delight, and to generate feelings, which had been defined long ago by ancient thinkers—docere, delectare, movere, in Cicero’s terms—and are each presented in a new, unexpected and persuasive way. Usually, books about literature focus on a few texts that share the same topic or come from the same culture or period. Fletcher’s arguments, by contrast, rely on a large number of literary works, the older ones coming from a variety of traditions, while the recent ones include renowned grand pieces smartly joined with popular novels, movies, TV shows, and comic books. Reading Wonderworks, one feels like walking in a friendly bookstore and browsing through new and used volumes written by Englishspeaking authors or translated from other languages, in prose or in verse, high-style or low, in order to pick up some, leaf through them and read a few verses or a couple of paragraphs. The difference is that in Wonderworks, Fletcher is next to us to describe the books, make unexpected comments, and explain why one should definitely purchase and read this book or put it back on the shelf right away and forget about it. Angus Fletcher. Wonderworks. The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature