Lovely post, Anu! Tempted to pick up Small Worlds.
I may be wrong but from the excerpts you shared it seemed the writing is intended to impress, a calculated flamboyance which is meant to make you pause and say - ah, see how clever this is. I am reading Hamnet currently and have been mulling over this type of writing, which is glorious and beautiful and lyrical, but can sometimes feel a bit overwrought, a bit over-engineered? Would love to hear your thoughts on this!
To me, Open Water felt a little more like that than this one. But of course both are stylistic choices - and as you say, correctly, there is a fine line between making it feel/flow organically, so to speak, and have it feel overwrought/over-engineered. I think it depends on how much it serves the story and how much is mere indulgence or ornamentation. When the focus is on balancing the different narrative elements with the sole purpose of the story being told, I think it can work really well. But, many times, it is so easy to get lost, so to speak. What do you make of Hamnet, so far? I had an "unpopular" opinion about it.
Lovely post, Anu! Tempted to pick up Small Worlds.
I may be wrong but from the excerpts you shared it seemed the writing is intended to impress, a calculated flamboyance which is meant to make you pause and say - ah, see how clever this is. I am reading Hamnet currently and have been mulling over this type of writing, which is glorious and beautiful and lyrical, but can sometimes feel a bit overwrought, a bit over-engineered? Would love to hear your thoughts on this!
I hope it'll treat you well, Rohan!
To me, Open Water felt a little more like that than this one. But of course both are stylistic choices - and as you say, correctly, there is a fine line between making it feel/flow organically, so to speak, and have it feel overwrought/over-engineered. I think it depends on how much it serves the story and how much is mere indulgence or ornamentation. When the focus is on balancing the different narrative elements with the sole purpose of the story being told, I think it can work really well. But, many times, it is so easy to get lost, so to speak. What do you make of Hamnet, so far? I had an "unpopular" opinion about it.
Enjoyed going through the latest newsletter. Thank you for opening my mind to something more than mystery, humor, action and fantasy.
Thank you, Baba!