Ken Follett : the transformation of a writer / Carlos Ramet.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ramet, Carlos.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Follett, Ken--Criticism and interpretation.

Follett, Ken.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xi, 159 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Bowling Green, OH : Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1999.

Summary:

Ken Follett: The Transformation of a Writer focuses on the artistic development and cultural implications of an important contemporary novelist--the author of such best-selling works as Eye of the Needle (1978), The Pillars of the Earth (1989), and The Hammer of Eden (1998).

Beginning with his earliest published novel, The Big Needle (1974), this study explores the tension between the popular and the serious that has underlain much of Ken Follett's work, examines his blending of genres, film adaptations of his novels, and his keen ability to extend his readership through a "hybridization" process.

Other chapters engage in a linguistic analysis to survey his artistic development and flexibility with forms; explore the structural, archetypal and mythic patterns underpinning much of his more successful work; and demonstrate that his recent involvement in British party politics is reflected not only in his latest works but has been implied by his novels from the very beginning.

This study, which should appeal to both the scholar and the general reader, concludes with an assessment of Ken Follett's work so far and demonstrates that while he is part of a continuum, he has uniquely transformed his chosen genre--the thriller--and has made a significant contribution to popular cultural forms.

Contents:

2 Writing as "Symon Myles": What England Borrowed and Returned 19

3 The "Mystery" of Early Success 33

4 An Eye for Literature 43

5 Change and Adaptation in Eye of the Needle 53

6 Television as Interpretation: The Key to Rebecca 65

7 The Art of the First Chapter 77

8 Unification and Evaporation in The Man from St. Petersburg 87

9 The Architecture of the Novel 99

10 Politics and Historical Revisionism 109

11 Continuity and Change: Conclusion 123.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Works by Ken Follett": pages 153-154.

ISBN:

0879727977

0879727985

OCLC:

40881611