This work is in a sense in the spirit of Sartre's reading of Existensialism. It is Man cast alone in the Universe, but here facing a text, and making meaning out of it. The work of fiction and the work of life together are meaning- making - interpretations. And Dillard reads not only to understand but to live.
I understand and appreciate this way of thinking very much. And Dillard's elegance in defending it is clear.
However 'what exactly we live for' the 'precise values' outside of 'reading and interpreting' are not so clear to me.
'Truth, Beauty and Goodness" would seem to me not simply a supplement to 'meaning making interpretation' but a way of enriching and making more meaningful their 'content'.

"Living By Fiction" is in essence a treatise by Annie Dillard that attempts to interpret art, and thereby includes fiction as art, and as an interpretation. The book is well constructed and the sentences are beautifully crafted. The treatise starts by discussing in vast detail, the styles and forms of writing. Then it concentrates on "modernistic" fiction. This type of fiction takes numerous and varied forms.

Annie distinguishes between styles of writing. She does this very much by example. She uses the work of many, many authors as her examples and illustrations of the different manners in which a writer can craft a work. Specifically, she describes works of fiction. After detailing these different styles and their characteristics, she then turns to the purpose of fiction as a subcategory of art.

She posits that art is an interpretation. It is the artist's perspective on the relationship between something in the universe and a representation of that vision of the item. Her analysis inevitably leads her to state that art and religion are the modes by which people explain and interpret the unexplainable. Art produces an interpretation of a vision that is meant for others to see.

The interpretation, interestingly enough, is in fact non-existent without the reader and the critic to observe. While opining that fiction needs readers and critics to be interpreted, the interpretation is the very purpose of the creation. Without the reader and the critic, the work does not really exist. It exists in form, but not in value. The work is a creation that only carries a message if someone reads it; and more so if someone such as a critic helps us to interpret it.

In a fascinating "diatribe" to use her designation, she discusses the complexity of interpretation. In addition, she discusses a concept that art is the ordering of disordered and decaying existence. Basing her discussion of this concept on Newton's Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that all things become randomly distributed, unless acted upon by some external force; Annie argues that fiction and art in general are an ordering of this theory of disorder or entropy. She in fact suggests that perhaps art, including fiction, is the purpose of man. And that this purpose is for man to make order of the universe around him. Does art create meaning or does it expose it? In essence Annie says the distinction does not really matter. What matters is that it is a depiction; which is open to anyone who wishes to interpret it. Without an observer, it carries no real meaning. It is just an object. Only through its interpretation does it gain meaning. Thus, art and fiction necessitate interpreters, and it is through these interpreters, the reader, that it gains meaning and substance.

While complex in her contentions, she is also sublime. The treatise truly is a thing of beauty, but that is not sufficient to Annie. Nor is it really sufficient to a reader or a critic. What is sufficient and valuable is that the art object presents the reader with an interpretation. And whether the reader's interpretation is in accordance with the artist's is really of no account. Its value is in its illustration of a message. That message is open to all to interpret as they see it, and as it relates to life and existence. This book is recommended to all readers of complex fiction. It is truly a picturesque look at the art of writing and also the purpose thereof.

In Living by Fiction, Annie Dillard begins her introduction with, ýThis is, ultimately, a book about the world.ý I canýt be sure of what youýre thinking but I wrote ýholy crapý in my margin. She later goes on to explain, ýFiction can deal with all the worldýs objects and ideas together, with the breadth of human experience in time and space; it can deal with things the limited disciplines of thought either ignore completely or destroy by methodological caution, our most pressing concerns: personality, family, death, love, time, spirit, goodness, evil, destiny, beauty, will.ý Itýs characteristic of Dillard to deliver a surprising assertion throughout her book, which peaks enough interest that the reader is able to grapple with the theory-based arguments and eventually make oneýs way to beautiful, gentle explanations that are often times hard to disagree with since she covers many perspectives. Dillardýs strength lies in her ability to intertwine theory with her own creativity in writing, making metaphors out of her arguments: ýScience works the way a tightrope walker works: by not looking at its feet. As soon as it looks at its feet, it realizes that itýs operating in midair.ý This is what we would have imagined a theory book to read like years ago, if a creative writer had written it.

Dillardýs main concerns in her book deal with modernism and its place in the contemporary world, the never-ending argument of what constitutes art, and her caution not to commit to any absolutes in the world of knowledge and intelligence. This is the closest that a reader could get to having a conversation with a theorist. At one point when Dillard is discussing the marketplace and Melvilleýs essay, The Encantadas, and how itýs always been classified as fiction, she asks as though sheýs sitting with us listening to the same discussion, ýIs it because Melville usually wrote fiction? Is it because it is a narrative? Is it because the characters are colorful? Is it because it is good? Or is it because much of it is hearsay?ý Dillard is reassuring (or disconcertingýdepending on how you view the literary world) in her text that there are no absolutes to how fiction fits in the world, how art movements change, or how meaning is made. This book probably addresses a more advanced writer in its focus on theory and non-focus on craft.

I think there are few books about literature as important, erudite, witty or insightful as this one. In typical Dillard fashion, Annie Dillard begins with a rather narrow focus - an interpretation of "contemporary modernist" fiction (a term she hopes will not catch on because it is so clumsy) - the works of Nabokov, John Barth, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Italo Calvino, Robbe-Grillet and Beckett - and then she proceeds to expand her inquiry to include, firstly, the finding of meaning in literature and, ultimately, the finding of meaning in the world. These questions - does the world have meaning? do we find meaning or make it up? how do we best interpret the world? - are questions which dog "Living by Fiction"; rather than gloss over them Dillard investigates them. And she comes up with some surprising - and glorious - ideas. Ultimately, she makes a challenging and vital case for the importance of literature in terms of making meaning out of the world. This is, truly, critiscm at its best. I have no doubt that Dillard's reading of the contemporary modernists will be regarded as seminal in years to come. So for anyone even remotely interested in contemporary literary critiscm, this book is crucial. But the wider scope of the book is one should fascinate anyone who cares about literature and meaning. These are burning questions that Dillard asks. If you've never read Dillard's other works - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Holy the Firm, etc. - this is a wonderful introduction into her particular talents and methods. If you're a Dillard fan and you haven't read this one, you are really missing out.

I thought Ms. Dillard distinguished herself with this literary piece of literary criticism. She got into some pretty deep and convoluted places with this book, but I felt that every point was well-made and well-taken. I feel the book is an education in itself. Loved it!