Tuesday, December 11, 2007

What do you think of maximalism? Click here.

3 comments:

Flynn said...

That article is too long to read.

Diana said...

har har

Flynn said...

Ok, I read the article. I don't think I'm in either camp, but my favorite novel this year was minimalist (Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson). Then again, the ultra-maximilist Ulysses is my favorite hunk of writing of all time. On the other hand, I've wrassled with Infinite Jest several times, and have yet to come out on top. Still, I think Carver is the bomb. But I like Zadie Smith and Dave Eggers too. Do we really have to take sides? If it means becoming as miserable and humorless as Mr. Wood, I'll pass. I like it up here on the fence.

I also think it's very difficult to criticize literature in the moment in which it has been written (at least in terms of its overall place in literary history). I think the misreadings pointed out in the article prove that it's very easy to miss the zeitgeist of a particular writer if the critic's experience is too far removed from that of the author. Like a football coach relying on an outdated formula for success, I think Mr. Wood may have been left behind by the game he loves. Of course, that assessment is based solely on this article. I haven't read him, and I doubt that I will anytime soon.