How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

I found this book while on a search for a good introduction to literary criticism. This seemed to hit the mark. In it, Foster pursues hard-core analysis of the literary project while spinning a down-to-earth persona (which was obviously well-honed while in a classroom). I was not let down.

One can see why Foster’s work is popular among Advanced Placement English teachers in America. He presents himself as one of us (i.e., American and not British), only with a deep erudition of literature. He invites us to see literature symbolically with the emotional weight of the literary tradition on our backs. We begin to see everyday literature as an intertextual conversation amongst the ages, where writers borrow ideas from each other and analyze each other’s tomes.

Foster tackles topics like the weather, sex, irony, journeys and quests, and more. As the subtitle tells us, he teaches us to read between the lines as professors do. I hope that reading between the lines will lead to a greater efficacy of writing so that others can read between the lines as well.

Underlying this book is Foster’s theory that increasing literary appreciation will lead to greater enjoyment of books. I suspect that he is right on.