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A great reading list (in chronological order) at the end. Otherwise: Eh+. Just fine reading. Nothing mind-blowingly new. No humor other than the suggestion that he's reminded of a description of a veiny cigar every day, that is, when he masturbates? The final pages about lifeness are solid and mildly inspiring. As far as a technical book for writers, I prefer the efficiency, clarity, and cleverness of "Making Shapely Fiction" -- but this book nicely retells the evolutionary history of the elements of fiction, reminds you what it means to read closely, and might help when editing, but most of what he talks about, at least in terms of composing, I'm sure is not premeditated by writers but produced by talent, sensibility, sensitivity, and practice - it's the by-product of skills at work whilst "deeply imagining" (as Ethan Canin says). Sometimes pretty stuffy and staid other than a hot Philip Roth passage. Occasional exclamation points to emphasize the awesomeness of certain passages that seemed semi-unexceptional to me . . . Not sure who this book is intended for: the choir already mostly knows this stuff (and appreciates the examples, sure) but new recruits would probably be superbored and maybe even intimidated by the literary centrality/staidness, not to mention the excessive adoration of Saul Bellow and Henry James? Ultimately, I'd love to see the same structure of this book filled out with comparing/contrasting content by someone like a certain Mr. David Foster Wallace -- that is, I guess I'd've liked some refreshing humor (ie, a variance in "registers," as he talks about in the section on style) and totally scintillating, un-ever-thought-before-by-me-or-probably-anyone-else insight -- enhanced perception instead of recognition and admiration.