How to Read a Novel

How to Read a Novel:
A User's Guide (Hardcover)
by John Sutherland (Author)

If the members of the 2006 Man Booker panel need any help wading through the selected titles, they need look no further than John Sutherland, chairman of last year's committee.

Under his guidance, the UK's most prestigious literary prize was controversially awarded to The Sea, by Irish author John Banville.

How the judges came to that decision forms part of his latest work How to Read a Novel, an instructional tome offering consumers tips on how to gain the most from the wealth of published fiction now on offer.

"There is so much choice, all of it tempting and much of it good,"
Sutherland says.

"What I wanted to do, as much for myself as anyone else, was find strategies to get through this extraordinary thicket."

'Thundering cattle'
To maximise the enjoyment of reading fiction, Mr Sutherland argues, the reader must develop individual criteria based on personal preferences.

These can be hard to establish when every bookshop's shelves come groaning with instructions, exhortations and endorsements.

"I get slightly worried when everyone buys The Da Vinci Code," he says. "It's like a herd of thundering cattle, all heading in the same direction.

"If there is a message in the book, it's choose for yourself - find out who you are and what fiction works for you."

Prizes like the Man Booker can prove a valuable pointer for readers, Mr Sutherland argues.

"Some say the Booker is only there to stimulate book sales, but I don't believe that," he says.

"What will happen is that people will look at the novels that are nominated and say, 'Do I agree?'

'Interesting places'
"At their best, that is what prizes do - they give people signposts."

"People don't necessarily have to follow them. But if they do, they can get to interesting places," he adds.

With its playful references to Jacqueline Susann, Jeffrey Archer and Star Trek, earnest is not a word that readily applies to Sutherland's latest work.

But while the book displays an admirable lightness of touch - not least by having a glowing rave from its own author emblazoned on its jacket - the writer has a serious point to convey.

"Novels can enlarge your life," he says. "The more you read, the more you discover about yourself.

"You can't eat or breathe them, and they won't solve our problems. But they do define our problems in a way that makes it easier for us to solve them ourselves."

How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide is published by Profile Books on 17 August, priced £9.99.

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