On The Other Hand

[poliphilo]

On the other hand, "fun, likable, clever" isn't really what I look for in fiction. I want to be astonished, amazed, transported. Dickens will do that to a person. So will Charlotte Bronte. Writers who faithfully render that limited range of experience we call "reality" interest me much less- even when they're wonderfully sharp and witty about it.

Comments

[mallorys_camera]

I'm more keyed to language and style than I am to plot. 😀

[poliphilo]

Me too.

Look at Dickens, his plots are mostly crap. You really don't read him to find out what happens next. I mean who gives a toss whether the characterless hero gets to marry the even more characterless heroine? You read him for the characters, for the set pieces, for the surreal dialogue, for things like, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

[mallorys_camera]

Dickens is a really fabulous stylist!!!! 😀

[poliphilo]

Yes!

When he really cuts loose there's no one to touch him!