"If the writer is able to properly convey to the reader the social and psychological forces acting on a character whose behavior is unacceptable--and isn't it the mark of a good writer that he can?--then the reader might well end up feeling sorry for the character, and insofar as he identifies with him, sorry for himself. Of course, you realize this gets rid of the bad guy in literature?"
"Oh no it doesn't," I said with a confidence born out of nothing but joy. "There's still a bad guy. The writer, for making the reader feel sorry for himself."
--Elliot Perlman, Seven Types of Ambiguity
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A bang, not a whimper
Two months into L.'s retirement, and I'm finished with the stockpiling of books. No more book purchases! Or at least, no purcha...
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(See also Musee des Beaux Arts ) As far as mental anguish goes, the old painters were no fools. They understood how the mind, the freakiest ...
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When I finished Kevin Brockmeier's A Brief History of the Dead last spring I immediately did a search to see if the Coca-Cola Corp. had...
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