Getting Good Writing Down
For Prof. Fish, good writing begins with good sentences. His first couple of chapters nail down some principles about sentence writing and how sentences set up and guide (or sometimes subvert) the reader's expectation. He then narrows his inquiry to consideration of sentences from specifically satirical works, and the book sags a little as some of the sentences he chooses (and some of the ones he writes himself) prove unsatisfying examples of what he appears to advocate. But don't quit. The chapters on great opening sentences and especially great closing sentences are worth the price of the book.
