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101 Best Scenes Ever Written: A Romp Through Literature for Writers and Readers
Readers will delight at the best scenes ever written. They will find old favorites and savor scenes new to them. With each scene, Barnaby Conrad provides insights as to what the author wishes to accomplish with this passage and the literary devices he or she employs. Any avid reader will enjoy Conrad's ""101 Best Scenes Ever Written,"" but countless fledgling and established writers will benefit enormously by sampling and studying these gems from the masters of the written word.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
239 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Barnaby Conrad
47 books11 followersBarnaby Conrad, Jr. was an American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter and boxer.
NB: Father of writer Barnaby Conrad III.
Washington Post obituary:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
NB: Father of writer Barnaby Conrad III.
Washington Post obituary:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 8, 2011
I really enjoyed this. It was perfect for somebody that is trying to make up for almost 2 decades of not reading much. Also, for someone that is working on their writing skills. I found myself engrossed in the synopsis's and Conrad did an excellent job of leading the reader into the scene and back out of. It read smoothly.
July 4, 2019
This book occupies an awkward spot between shelves and suffers for it. It is not a writing guide (it's a "romp through literature"), though it is often didactic, but not so much as to be comprehensive or particularly useful as a guide. Nor is it a comparison of books-- there are plenty of movie scripts and plays here. Nor is it a summary of great stories; instead it pulls out the choicest bits and often spoils the rest.
So in that respect it is a book for connoisseurs, but the only ones who can read this with full appreciation and no dread of ruined plot twists and poignant moments are those who have already seen and read everything, and those who frankly have little care for the art of storytelling or (or the hard work of thinking critically about what you read) but are happy to have something to talk about at cocktail hours.
So in that respect it is a book for connoisseurs, but the only ones who can read this with full appreciation and no dread of ruined plot twists and poignant moments are those who have already seen and read everything, and those who frankly have little care for the art of storytelling or (or the hard work of thinking critically about what you read) but are happy to have something to talk about at cocktail hours.
January 18, 2009
This book is exactly what it purports to be: "a romp" through literature and Hollywood, a culling from the herd of 101 of the best scenes ever written. Mr. Conrad, a best-selling author who also used to professionally wave capes at riled-up bulls (until forced by a "bad goring" to retire from the sport), makes good on his promise. Scene after scene flits by without any but the barest verbal stitching on Conrad's part. The author's picture shows Conrad scowling scholarly at the camera, standing next to an easel and canvas, holding paints in his hands, the canvas's pretty woman's visage resembling something like what I imagine Joan and Jackie Collins's librarian sister to look like.
And so I was prepared for Mr. Conrad to maybe use the book's occasion to trot out some of his own writing. Nonetheless, I still cringed when Mr. Conrad, with a bit of hemming and erming, introduced one of his own scenes. But I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the best scenes in the entire book. Seriously.
The downside of this book is that it is chockablock with spoilers. The book's basically nothing but spoilers. It is just one spoiler after the other. Little Women? Jo dies. Tale of Two Cities? Whathisname dies in place of his friend. Animal Farm? Animals dominate other animals; the humans step back in the picture at the end. Also, Mr. Conrad is a tad too impressed with Hollywood's whole system of self-congratulation. I lost count of how many times he describes this or that famous scene, and then says: "This scene is so good that when Actor X and Actress Y played the parts on the big screen, they both won Oscars." As if winning an Oscar settled forever some kind of artistic question. But if it, how then to explain Cuba Gooding Jr. Robin Williams. James Cameron.
But that is not to say that Mr. Conrad fails to instruct. He does a great job. Nor does he fail to charm. He's a real charmer. He is likable. He chucks the reader's chin, and gives him candy on the sly. He picks the reader up from home at dusk, drives him a little distance, and then parks the car. "Shhhh!" he says. "Watch!" He points to the sky. First one, then another, and then too many too count: fireworks explode in the sky.
Oooh. Aaaah.
And so I was prepared for Mr. Conrad to maybe use the book's occasion to trot out some of his own writing. Nonetheless, I still cringed when Mr. Conrad, with a bit of hemming and erming, introduced one of his own scenes. But I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the best scenes in the entire book. Seriously.
The downside of this book is that it is chockablock with spoilers. The book's basically nothing but spoilers. It is just one spoiler after the other. Little Women? Jo dies. Tale of Two Cities? Whathisname dies in place of his friend. Animal Farm? Animals dominate other animals; the humans step back in the picture at the end. Also, Mr. Conrad is a tad too impressed with Hollywood's whole system of self-congratulation. I lost count of how many times he describes this or that famous scene, and then says: "This scene is so good that when Actor X and Actress Y played the parts on the big screen, they both won Oscars." As if winning an Oscar settled forever some kind of artistic question. But if it, how then to explain Cuba Gooding Jr. Robin Williams. James Cameron.
But that is not to say that Mr. Conrad fails to instruct. He does a great job. Nor does he fail to charm. He's a real charmer. He is likable. He chucks the reader's chin, and gives him candy on the sly. He picks the reader up from home at dusk, drives him a little distance, and then parks the car. "Shhhh!" he says. "Watch!" He points to the sky. First one, then another, and then too many too count: fireworks explode in the sky.
Oooh. Aaaah.
August 29, 2011
Conrad selects favorite scenes from literature, theater, and film, groups them into categories, and analyzes them in order to help writers and readers understand why they are great. Its mainly presented to writers as a way to show how great scenes manage the trick of making you fall in love with a story, so that they can learn to do it themselves.
As with any list that declaims "Best" in its title, there are always scenes that are left out. However, I found the scenes selected to be worth reading, so I didn't doubt their value. He sticks mostly to canonical titles and well known works, which means that there is a prevalence of works by dead white men, few women, and almost no minorities. This does not take a way from the scenes presented, as these are certainly great scenes; it just reflects on the author's preferences and biases. Any such list is going to be limited, of course, but something from The Color Purple, Their Eyes Were Watching God, just about anything by Toni Morrison, or other such works with fabulous writing could have been considered.
In terms of advice, the author lays down "rules" with a mildly patronizing tone. Many of the rules I don't agree with and Conrad makes no reference to when authors break "rules" for better effect.
Worth a read, but I recommend borrowing it from a library as opposed to buying it.
As with any list that declaims "Best" in its title, there are always scenes that are left out. However, I found the scenes selected to be worth reading, so I didn't doubt their value. He sticks mostly to canonical titles and well known works, which means that there is a prevalence of works by dead white men, few women, and almost no minorities. This does not take a way from the scenes presented, as these are certainly great scenes; it just reflects on the author's preferences and biases. Any such list is going to be limited, of course, but something from The Color Purple, Their Eyes Were Watching God, just about anything by Toni Morrison, or other such works with fabulous writing could have been considered.
In terms of advice, the author lays down "rules" with a mildly patronizing tone. Many of the rules I don't agree with and Conrad makes no reference to when authors break "rules" for better effect.
Worth a read, but I recommend borrowing it from a library as opposed to buying it.
March 1, 2015
A survey of a bunch of scenes with light commentary on why they worked. I didn't find the book entertaining or instructive and I disagreed with much of what the author presented as to why a certain scene should be written a certain way to aid in dramatic effect.
Subtitled as a romp through literature for writers and readers, however the book draws heavily from not only literature but movies and film scripts. The scenes selected seemed arbitrary and clearly were deemed the best by the author and not some ratings board or agency. I personally didn't have a problem with that little quibble, but only thought the books title misrepresented what it was.
Overall, I didn't find it instructive or helpful as a writer and I found it only marginally enjoyable as a reader. I think that if it stuck to what it promised, literature, and was more thorough in the scene deconstruction, I might have gotten more from it. I wished I could have rated it higher.
Subtitled as a romp through literature for writers and readers, however the book draws heavily from not only literature but movies and film scripts. The scenes selected seemed arbitrary and clearly were deemed the best by the author and not some ratings board or agency. I personally didn't have a problem with that little quibble, but only thought the books title misrepresented what it was.
Overall, I didn't find it instructive or helpful as a writer and I found it only marginally enjoyable as a reader. I think that if it stuck to what it promised, literature, and was more thorough in the scene deconstruction, I might have gotten more from it. I wished I could have rated it higher.
June 25, 2015
This one was less satisfying than his "101 Beginnings" book, and I'm getting rather tired of his approach. It feels like he can't really settle on how much he's going to give us useful commentary on the scenes, vs. tangential, name-dropping anecdotes, vs. just handing them to us. Kind of a mess, really. I didn't care for the inclusion of so many movie scenes, partly because they lose a lot when you're just reading a script or a paraphrase, and partly because the cover did promise a "romp through literature." So overall, not super useful. (And the curiosity it inspired to read some of the books was balanced out by the spoilers of revealing the ending scenes.)
September 28, 2009
I got this book for my son, who's interested in screen-writing. But then I ended up reading the whole book myself because a. writing is made up of scenes (and there were some great ones in this book) and b. I knew all the movies and books the author referenced. So, that made it all the more interesting.
July 30, 2008
Mostly familiar scenes from popular novels, plays and films, but a fun way to revisit a wide range of great writing. Also like that the chapters are delineated by genre (horror, comedy, etc.) - could be useful as a reference for inspiration in future writing.
July 30, 2008
Having seen most of the films, it was a pleasure to revisit them. Entertaining.
February 9, 2012
Some interesting material here. I wish Conrad had spent a little more time dissecting why the scenes were so good. As an overview it is good. As a writing guide it is a little thin.
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March 12, 2009Phenomenal book. Wish I had read it years ago.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews