When I went to college, the creative writing courses were so impacted that I had no chance of getting in after competing with the students who spent a lot more time writing than I did. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain promised to be my chance to read what happens in those classes. I will confess that I've bounced of George Saunders' books and short stories --- the genre he works in is no fun for me, but this book captivated me in a way I didn't expect.
The format of the book is that a short story by one of the Russian writers is presented. The first one is presented a page at a time, followed by analysis and detailed examination of how the writer accomplished his goals. There's a huge emphasis on how the story/author makes you feel.
Of all the questions an aspiring writer might ask herself, here’s the most urgent: What makes a reader keep reading? Or, actually: What makes my reader keep reading? (What is it that propels a reader through a swath of my prose?) (kindle loc 2756)
The book has lots of insights related to the writer's work, which are as insightful as the stories presented:
Every soul is vast and wants to express itself fully. If it’s denied an adequate instrument (and we’re all denied that, at birth, some more than others), out comes…poetry, i.e., truth forced out through a restricted opening. That’s all poetry is, really: something odd, coming out. Normal speech, overflowed. A failed attempt to do justice to the world. (kindle loc 4847)
I will confess that I'd never consider reading Russian literature for fun. This book didn't change my mind, but gave me a glance at the kind of personality and thoughts behind someone who enjoys Russian literature (Saunders' enthusiasm for Chekhov and Tolstoy comes clearly through the page), and gave me a lot to think. about. The exercises in the appendix also look to be worth doing.
Recommended.
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