When the flatulence of a book cannot be justified, how can one not balk at the hubris of a writer who imagined that readers would stay loyal to her until the very end of a story?
“Yesterday’s gum in today’s mouth.” Has there ever been a more damning assessment of a piece of writing? Ouch! Thx for saving me the trouble! I’m tantalized by your reference to Verghese’s latest, though. I didn’t balk for one minute while reading Cutting for Stone. Am I in for a wordy letdown?
I hear you, Kalpana. Length isn’t the only problem when writers are allowed to be self-indulgent. I’m trying to read a novel by an author whose previous two books I tore through and admired. This one is long, slow, and riddled with sloppy grammar (not the kind that reveals character) and uninspired sentences.
I haven’t read Elsa Morante, but your review has made me curious. I may pick up the Italian version and see how it goes.
“Yesterday’s gum in today’s mouth.” Has there ever been a more damning assessment of a piece of writing? Ouch! Thx for saving me the trouble! I’m tantalized by your reference to Verghese’s latest, though. I didn’t balk for one minute while reading Cutting for Stone. Am I in for a wordy letdown?
Same! And the same fear about the Verghese, despite loving Cutting for Stone.
I hear you, Kalpana. Length isn’t the only problem when writers are allowed to be self-indulgent. I’m trying to read a novel by an author whose previous two books I tore through and admired. This one is long, slow, and riddled with sloppy grammar (not the kind that reveals character) and uninspired sentences.
I haven’t read Elsa Morante, but your review has made me curious. I may pick up the Italian version and see how it goes.