Where on Earth is That Woman?

[rolanni]

Here and there. Not quite back again.

The pre-ordered hardcover editions of Liaden Universe(R) Companion, Vol. One are getting into the mail, slow and steady. Flu shots have been had; gym has gone forth; cats have been cuddled. "Necessary Evils," the short story, has been tweaked one!more!time! and pronounced Done. (I'd been hoping to feel a little less like a Krispy Kritter on the writing front by now. Crystal Dragon took more outta me than I had understood, I guess.)

Films viewed lately, only one: Casablanca, which I had never seen before (yes, I am a barbarian). Wonderful movie, lots of levels. At this point (because I'd probably hate the movie if I thought otherwise, and I really don't want to dislike such a pretty piece of storytelling), it is my firm belief that Ilsa played Rick perfectly, knowing that he was a Romantic and unable, ultimately, to resist the opportunity to make the Grand Gesture.

Reading: Tamsin by Peter Beagle; and "Why Experimental Fiction Threatens to Destroy Publishing, Jonathan Franzen, and Life as We Know It: A Correction" by Ben Marcus, Harper's October 2005.

This is an interesting juxtaposition of reading matter. Mr. Marcus' little rant is upwards of fourteen pages long, and dense going. While I find that I agree with some of his points -- and am amused by some of his gyrations -- I confess myself baffled by those writers who eschew stories told in the same old narrative form. Mr. Marcus, himself a self-described "ambitious" writer, feels that the writer's debt to the reader is not satisfied by merely telling stories; one must do something new and exciting -- something unique, if not understandable -- with the words on the page. It's an odd viewpoint; and one that I understand so little of that I can't even say I disagree with it; my reaction something more along the lines of, "This is a joke, right?"

Tamsin, for instance, seems to me to demonstrate that everything Mr. Marcus averrs is nonsense. Here is a story told in the simplest, most transparent language possible, in which many magical things happen. It's the very simplicity of the prose that compels the reader, and that makes those magical things seem real.

I suppose that's the difference between genre and literature.

Or between genius and poseur...

Comments

[elbales]

What a ridiculous thesis. What's the point of words on the page, if not communication?

Anyway... don't feel alone. I've never seen Casablanca either. Are you one of those people who's got a list of never-seen films that makes other people ask, "Did you live in a box as a kid?"

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

What's the point of words on the page, if not communication?

Play. Which I can see. To a point. To lift the reader out of hisorher daily daily and give their brains a good shaking up -- kind of like spring cleaning the skull. Which I can also see. To a point. But those are side issues, as far as I'm concerned. The real purpose of words on a page is to either (1) tell a story or (2) convey information as quickly and as clearly as possible.

I note that my prejudices here are colored by an early difficulty in speaking, and a speech impediment which lingered into adulthood. Communication is both too difficult and too precious for me to enjoy the deliberate creation of confusion, Art or no Art.

Are you one of those people who's got a list of never-seen films that makes other people ask, "Did you live in a box as a kid?"

Well, see, my dad liked war movies and my grandmother liked musicals. So I had an ...odd... core curriculum.

[elbales]

Well, sure, play is a great adjunct to communication... but I'm with you in believing it's a side issue. Give me good, old-fashioned information, thankyouverymuch.

Mmm, Bridge Over the River Kwai with a chaser of Singin' in the Rain.

...I haven't seen either one of those, either. No, really, no box, I swear. But I did go to a performance of Carmen when I was twelve. So my core curriculum was all about the arias. Why do parents do these things to their kids? ;)

[galeni.livejournal.com]

Ilsa played Rick? Fascinating thought and it holds together, too. So maybe she wasn't a helpless ditz but instead a clever woman handling an unfortunate situation in a way that leaves everyone content. Wow. Thanks!

[schulman.livejournal.com]

feels that the writer's debt to the reader is not satisfied by merely telling stories; one must do something new and exciting -- something unique, if not understandable -- with the words on the page.

Oh, I wish he wouldn't. And if he must, then as in etiquette and fashion, he has to demonstrate that he can work within the conventions before he's allowed to break them.

I loved Tamsin. Jenny is such a heartfelt and accurate portrait of a sullen adolescent girl that at some time in his life Beagle just has to have either been or raised one (in either case, he is to be pitied).

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Jenny is such a heartfelt and accurate portrait of a sullen adolescent girl...

Yes, she is. And look How Clever our humble author is, here. Because this is not a first-person-as-it-happens-narrative by the sullen 16-year-old, which would have been nigh insupportable, but the 19-year-old girl writing about her 16-year-old self. The 19-year-old Jenny is much more articulate than the 16-year-old Jenny was, by her own admission, and she can explain why Jenny did this or that, and what she was feeling, from an older-and-wiser -- and not wholly unsympathetic -- distance. That narrative voice is crucial in getting the reader on Jenny's side. Sneaky fellow, that Beagle...

I finished the book last night, and reallyReally like it.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

As a reader, "something unique, if not understandable" is not what I'm looking for. The unique part is fine, if it entertains me or conveys the information I want, but the not understable part just doesn't work for me. Good stories in the same old narrative form are just fine with me. The operative word there is "good".