Self-indulgence One of the commonest condemnati…
Self-indulgence
One of the commonest condemnations in book reviews, expressed as axiomatic, is that a book fails if it becomes �self-indulgent�, though it is never really explained what this means. Examples are provided of course, the commonest being that a novel about a novelist is �self-indulgent� but never why, exactly. So I was drawn to a couple of long essays by Anne Burke in Context entitled �Reviewing the Reviewers�. Gosh, I thought, what a self-indulgent subject, and began reading with interest. She makes a lot of useful observations. The main one is to present us with the assumptions creeping into reviewing that are never questioned.
I laughed out loud at the following passage:
The �Washington Post Book World � has started a “Book Club,” to consist of reviewers/critics orchestrating on-line discussions of various books. Jonathan Yardley .. chose Peter Taylor’s The Old Forest and Other Stories. To start the discussion, Yardley presents four discussion areas, and I’ll cite only one of these to give you a dose of what’s in store: “Taylor can fairly be called a writer of manners, because manners��’social conduct or rules of conduct as shown in the prevalent customs’ of a society, to quote Webster��of his Tennesseans are the framework within which his stories are constructed. How would you describe the manners of this particular society? What do you think is Taylor’s attitude toward those manners? Do the manners of Memphis and Nashville as Taylor depicts them have anything to say to people living, say, in and about Washington, D.C., in 1999?” [Oh, my God! I just had a terrifying flashback to being in Sister Mary Angelica's freshman English class at Trinity High School for Girls, circa 1961!]
I would like to suggest a list of other questions that Yardley should ask: Do you like the name Taylor? Do you think that one of his ancestors mended men’s pants for a living? Do you like men’s pants? Do you think Taylor likes men’s pants? How do you know? Do you think that men’s pants have anything to say to us in 2000? If so, why? If not, why? Do you think that women should be allowed to wear men’s pants? Do you think that Sister Mary Angelica ever wore men’s pants? Why do you think this? Is there anything that we can learn from men’s pants that might be useful to us today in our everyday lives? Have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease? Did this disease in any way relate to men’s pants? Do you ever dream about Peter Taylor in men’s pants? Do you discuss these dreams with your therapist? Do you have any good recipes for apple pie?�
Other SpikeMagazine.com posts of interest:
- More library lists
- Title: Invisible Forms
- What took him so long?
- Getting Kafka wrong, again
- Rock Bottom
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