Thursday, May 3, 2012

Good story or good writing? Can't I have both?

I sometimes find it hard to remove my editor's hat when I'm reading for pleasure. But there have been times... Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code comes to mind. The writing was certainly less than stellar, in my opinion, but the story managed to grab me up and sweep me along all the way to the finish. Many readers turn up their noses at this book, and I can sympathize. But doggone it, that was a fun read.

On the other hand, I have sometimes run across authors who can write beautiful prose, but they can't really tell a story. It thrills me to discover an author who can do both, one who can use chill- or sigh-inspiring prose to tell a page-turning, awe-inspiring, or heartwarming story -- and sometimes all three of those in one.

I'm currently reading Ann Patchett's State of Wonder. I've read  a couple of her books before (The Magician's Assistant and The Patron Saint of Liars) and found her talented but not stunning. This book is different so far. I'm finding that I want to go back and read certain sentences or paragraphs and then mark them with a sticky note so I won't forget to bring them up at my next book club meeting when we discuss the book. Here's an example:

Hope is a horrible thing, you know. I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not. It's a plague. Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.

What about you? Do you want story and sparkling prose or are you okay with just one or the other? What authors have you discovered that can provide both?

2 comments:

  1. You has a great blog. I'm very interesting to stopping here and leaves you a comment. Good work.

    Lets keep writing and share your information to us.

    Nb: Dont forget to leave your comment back for us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Ann Patchett! Have you read Bel Canto? I think its way better than Magician's assistant and Patron Saint of Liars. Cant wait to read state of wonder

    ReplyDelete