The publishing industry is crazy. Figure it out here.
On Dan Brown
Daniel Kaszor gets it right entirely as he reviews (and nails to the wall) The Lost Symbol:
The Da Vinci Code has sold an estimated 80 million copies in more than forty languages; critically, however, it is generally — though not universally — reviled (and if the critical response isn’t negative enough, you should spend some time on-line in book and writers’ forums, where mention of Brown is usually accompanied, one assumes, by the sound of spitting.)
The critical response is understandable, but misguided. By most accepted critical yardsticks, Brown’s work is lacking: his prose is workmanlike, at best; his characterizations are crepe-paper thin; his dialogue (if one can refer to earnestly delivered lectures as such) is stilted and unnatural; and his plot developments stretch credibility to the breaking point.
What the standard critical approach fails to take into account, however, is that none of these things actually matter.
It is wrongheaded to analyze Dan Brown’s fiction using the same indices one would use on a new book by Alice Munro; each work requires examination on its own terms. The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons earned their legions of readers because Brown does what he sets out to do very well: the novels are story machines, whose main purpose is to wrap readers within the narrative and push them through it.
The Da Vinci Code has sold an estimated 80 million copies in more than forty languages; critically, however, it is generally — though not universally — reviled (and if the critical response isn’t negative enough, you should spend some time on-line in book and writers’ forums, where mention of Brown is usually accompanied, one assumes, by the sound of spitting.)
The critical response is understandable, but misguided. By most accepted critical yardsticks, Brown’s work is lacking: his prose is workmanlike, at best; his characterizations are crepe-paper thin; his dialogue (if one can refer to earnestly delivered lectures as such) is stilted and unnatural; and his plot developments stretch credibility to the breaking point.
What the standard critical approach fails to take into account, however, is that none of these things actually matter.
It is wrongheaded to analyze Dan Brown’s fiction using the same indices one would use on a new book by Alice Munro; each work requires examination on its own terms. The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons earned their legions of readers because Brown does what he sets out to do very well: the novels are story machines, whose main purpose is to wrap readers within the narrative and push them through it.
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Um, I didn't give too many people presents this year.
But I'll give you guys one.
You don't have to like it though. It's like when I gave my grandma
cashews. She's allergic.
So here's my favorite chapter to write in a very short book
I call "Emma."…
Thanks for the comment, I like tackling heavy subjects. But this one is from personal experience.
Matthew is her crush, I could say. Or her savior. I think I'll put up more. It's not meant to be really long. Just ten short chapters is enough to tell…
This is a pretty heavy topic. The last paragraph definitely has a lot of shocking reveals. What role did Matthew play? There's room for expanding should you choose to revisit this work again.
Congrats on finishing this project.
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