In the sense that it’s insufficiently critical? Or something else?
One thing I do try to do is inhibit a broad range of styles in my more literary/artsy nonfiction. Especially in reviews I try to mimic the writer somewhat (eg the Chiang review was more straightforward on a sentence level than my usual writing. It both had less semi-relevant jokes/riffs, and the jokes were more tightly focused).
Getting Bjartur right is hard in this regard both because I’m much less capable of the sustained and layered voice/metacognition that he most likes and because sustained metacognition seems less good a fit for a book review[1].
Similarly I was unable to do the Chiang thing of “talk about four ideas at the same time” in my book review of him; though that one felt more like a skill issue on my end. So I ended up talking about each distinct idea separately, even ideas that rhymed.
Wow, kudos—I genuinely wasn’t sure what was going on with the essay since the tone was indeed almost Borges-style (or perhaps a more grounded Bjartur).
In the sense that it’s insufficiently critical? Or something else?
One thing I do try to do is inhibit a broad range of styles in my more literary/artsy nonfiction. Especially in reviews I try to mimic the writer somewhat (eg the Chiang review was more straightforward on a sentence level than my usual writing. It both had less semi-relevant jokes/riffs, and the jokes were more tightly focused).
Getting Bjartur right is hard in this regard both because I’m much less capable of the sustained and layered voice/metacognition that he most likes and because sustained metacognition seems less good a fit for a book review[1].
Similarly I was unable to do the Chiang thing of “talk about four ideas at the same time” in my book review of him; though that one felt more like a skill issue on my end. So I ended up talking about each distinct idea separately, even ideas that rhymed.
Wow, kudos—I genuinely wasn’t sure what was going on with the essay since the tone was indeed almost Borges-style (or perhaps a more grounded Bjartur).
Thank you so much. Borges is a great writer and that’s very high praise. 🙂 ❤