Author Publisher José Corti Published in English 2006 | Translator Jeanine Herman Publication date 1980 Pages 302 | |
Reading Writing (French: En lisant en écrivant) is a 1980 book by the French writer Julien Gracq. It consists on notes and fragments on the relation between reading and writing. An English translation by Jeanine Herman was published in 2006.
Reception
Thomas McGonigle reviewed the book in Los Angeles Times in 2006 and wrote about Gracq: "He is singular in his literary accomplishments. His novels The Opposing Shore, A Dark Stranger and Balcony in the Forest remain as fresh, invigorating and moving as the day they were published." McGonigle continued about Reading Writing: "The scope of his interests and the intensity of his insight into the actual practice of writing are wonderful companions as one reads. Not only does Gracq refuse to consider writing and reading isolated from each other, but he also does not isolate them from arts such as music, painting, sculpture and film. ... The writer, student, teacher and reader are ever present in Gracq."