Something To Consider?

In light of the current economic situation and government panic, please consider this passage from Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged:

“Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society’s virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that it does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.”

Published in: on October 8, 2008 at 8:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Neal Stephenson Takes The Long Road

Neal Stephenson writes long, very long, books. And that’s how I like them. I’ve read his Baroque Cycle as he calls his three books that begin with Quicksilver, continue with The Confusion, and wind up with The System of the World. Each of these books runs beyond 800 pages, giving the reader plenty of words for the cover price.

What I enjoy about Stephenson’s books is the integration of historical events and characters with the fictional ones. He weaves these two seamlessly, supporting them with facts, so that in the end its one giant story about the world. While not all of it is true, it could have been. I prefer this to science fiction or fantasy books, neither of which have I been able to get through. (Exception: Jules Verne) Furthermore, Stephenson is not afraid to take detours to flesh out the context of the action. Too many books I read today drop the reader in from space without a decent explanation of the setting. The writer expects the reader to know what 1950’s Dublin is all about, or what’s going on in terms of present-day European skullduggery, or how religious practices of some distant tribe create social mores. Sorry, I have quite a diversity and depth of knowledge, but it is your job, dear writer, to create the world of your story for me to read. If that takes a few more pages, please, indulge me. After all, I didn’t pay the cover price to read a magazine article.

Yes, that was criticism in the previous paragraph. Some critics have lambasted Stephenson for not editing or condensing his work. My humble opinion is that he should leave it the way it is or add more. I mentioned his work in an early post about the “brevity cult” (his term). Well, the “brevity cult” is alive and well in this era of attention deficit disorder. However, just because some people can’t stay focused doesn’t mean the rest of us should be short changed. Good characters and enthralling plots don’t bog down in long books; they engage the reader, giving him solid footing to travel along the novel’s journey.

So, Neal Stephenson takes the long road. I’m right there with him.

Published in: on October 2, 2008 at 12:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Layers of History

I’ve been doing research for various writing projects and couldn’t help but mine through those old photographs again. I found this one of Rome, taken in the early 20th Century. On the far left is the old forum.

There has to be 2000 or more years of history in this image. There are churches, a triumphal arch, remnants of palaces and newer buildings. Amazing. One of the great things about writing stories is doing the research. I always end up learning things I never expected. That’s how I happened upon this photograph. While looking for something else, it popped up. Of course, it’s also why it takes so long to do the research. Inevitably, you get sidetracked into areas where you linger for the sheer pleasure of knowing the details. Anyway… back to work.

Published in: on September 23, 2008 at 5:40 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Richard Russo, The Bridge of Sighs

Having enjoyed Russo’s novel, Empire Falls, I decided to read deeper into his list by picking up The Bridge of Sighs. The book is one long train running. Like a train, it takes a while to get up to speed. Also like a train, it has many compartments. It starts with a first-person narrative as one of the main characters (a man who has had the nickname “Lucy” since first grade) writes a memoir mixed with a town history. The story then skips to his boyhood friend (“Noonan”), who left town at the end of high school and has never returned. This sets up the central framework of the book.

Through the course of the narrative, the reader meets most everyone in the small town of Thomastown, New York. Lucy and his relationships reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly of life in a one-company town. His naive father, his prescient mother, his rascally uncle, are the early people in his life. However, as he grows up he exists in a decaying place. Ultimately, he and Noonan part a couple of times, the second time for good when Noonan has to escape the law.

Like Empire Falls, this Russo book pries into the deepest recesses of people’s lives. He changes perspective in order to reveal different points of view of the same incident. This is where the story can be very powerful. However, at times the repetition grows tedious. Either way, Russo will take you on a long ride that can be insightful and enjoyable.

Published in: on September 18, 2008 at 12:42 pm  Comments (1)  
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