There is only what you do and what you don't do
I've been thinking about how I've read that a writer is like a god, creating his/her own universe. A god who perhaps tries to guide his/her creations, but ultimately has to let them run free. And it seems to me (or perhaps I read this somewhere; I probably did) that some writers are Old Testament gods, full of fury and vengeance.
I'm reading a novel by that sort of writer now. He created a character that I was able to love instantly--and almost as quickly he let me know that this character was going to suffer, and thus I was going to suffer. Which left me in a quandary--after all, I don't like suffering. So the obvious question is, why would a writer do this to his character and his readers? It isn't by accident.
The symbols in this book are obvious; the themes lack subtlety. And yet the novel is highly crafted and written with graceful force. There are no surprises--and that is the point. You are told something awful will happen, you feel the dread build up inside you, and then the thing happens, and perhaps the details of it are slightly surprising, but not much. What is shocking is how painful it is to read even though you know it is coming and how, even though you're reading about something completely foreign to you, you know that what you're reading is true and real--and how, even though you know better, you hope the god will step in and change the inevitable.
There are no gimmicks to this writing. And none are necessary. The writer just repeatedly kicks you in the stomach, and with each kick you realize that people are cruel, politics are ruthless, and fairness is nothing more than luck.
But why do people read such books? I considered shutting this one numerous times, but the blurbs on the back, all of which spoke of ultimate redemption, kept me reading. Also, there's guilt. I've been pretty lucky so far, and maybe I can choose my own penance for that: suffering vicariously (ah, catharsis). Readers, I suppose, are godlike as well. Plus, if I keep reading works like this, maybe one day I'll be able to write them.
I'd love to think that one day I might have the power to (metaphorically, of course) hold a reader's heart in my fist.
posted by Anonymous @ 10:10 AM
1 Comments:
I felt that way about The God of Small Things, when I read it, so much so that I put it down for a bit and contemplated whether I wanted to finish it and depress myself further. I also felt that way about Atonement. Like you said, books like these are hard to digest because our only saving grace as humans is the we will find redemption in seemingly senseless acts, either now or at some later time.
There is a certain beauty in the writer being in control of his or her written world and yet surrendering to the savagery of it. I've never been able to do it as a writer, ie, writing about suffering that wasn't met with some validation. I wonder if it's easier to write such stories like these or to read them. As the writer, you always have the option, at any time during the creation, of changing the story, playing God. Only when you're the reader does the real vulnerably of what has been created come into play.
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