tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post674782488011204175..comments2024-01-19T14:38:38.348+00:00Comments on Writers Review: SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE NOVEL by Adele GerasLinda Newberyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03378908274663919794noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-72938000614248964002018-03-27T17:53:49.837+01:002018-03-27T17:53:49.837+01:00Wonderful piece, Adele!Wonderful piece, Adele!Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-36745940133046214822018-03-26T19:52:59.946+01:002018-03-26T19:52:59.946+01:00Quite, Adele! Many years ago I was interviewed on ...Quite, Adele! Many years ago I was interviewed on Bulgarian National Radio and the interviewer began with, “So, why you write novels? The novel it is dead.” It wasn’t then and it isn’t now! Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-75304215159560611782018-03-26T17:30:57.066+01:002018-03-26T17:30:57.066+01:00I love the idea of reading experimental novels, an...I love the idea of reading experimental novels, and do read a few but, without some background arc of plot, they so often turn out to be too in thrall to their gimmick and thus disappoint. However, I'm looking forward to reading H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker as soon as I can fit it in. (Will Self though is not for me).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650062604319300960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-47476379761125680212018-03-26T11:35:13.023+01:002018-03-26T11:35:13.023+01:00Well said Adele. As a literary novelist who regard...Well said Adele. As a literary novelist who regards plot as an art as well as a craft, what you say needs to be said. I feel that I am very much "marked down" for giving readers a plot. I should add that, though they don;t always carry through with it, McGregor, Levy and Atkinson do all promise a plot - and as a successful author of detective novels, Atkinson is more rewarding than most.<br />Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15428693013132917947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-70456042074653516052018-03-26T10:39:37.163+01:002018-03-26T10:39:37.163+01:00Jon McGregor, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Kate Atki...Jon McGregor, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Kate Atkinson are 'experimental' novelists in concept and ideas and also write with clarity and precision - neverthelessl immensely readable. I've just waded my way through a translated traditional novel for my book club - terrible. It's all in the writing!Elizabeth Langhornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362060495963211049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-14034143648780026622018-03-26T10:06:35.427+01:002018-03-26T10:06:35.427+01:00Very interesting comments from all! I agree but ha...Very interesting comments from all! I agree but have to admit that I have a very low tolerance of books I have to WORK at...I read novels entirely for pleasure these days! adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-17282726370656975222018-03-26T09:54:41.892+01:002018-03-26T09:54:41.892+01:00To The Lighthouse; A Man Without Qualities: Kather...To The Lighthouse; A Man Without Qualities: Katherine Mansfield generally (?) quite a few modernist works without plot. <br />BTW, don't think Self did really comment on the death of the novel, but the importance of the literary novel. From a cultural perspective, it's possible. The modern novel is about the individual's journey, afterall. Born around 1900, with self-sacralisation: those artists who - denied participation in a political voice (usually Jewish) - turned inward and examined the construct and labour of their art. Leading to a view of art that focused less on content, and more on the artist; and so the dandy, and so the flaneur, etc. This aestheticization of the self, though - including the individual "journeys" that occupy the modern novel, have a lifespan, however. Self-aggregation/curation in online media, platforms such as these, the tactility and immediate, "unthinking" response, encourage group-think, and slowly, inexorably, less interest in the individual story.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18079290744038913969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-46137306638213564852018-03-26T09:46:28.197+01:002018-03-26T09:46:28.197+01:00Well, I enjoyed Will Self's Umbrella, and, aft...Well, I enjoyed Will Self's Umbrella, and, after all, being overwhelmingly gloomy and intellectual is his schtick. Good luck to him, I say. But of course you need a plot, even if it only concerns the search of a person to find a new way to think about the world. Plot is movement, and as humans we're hard-wired, I think, to be interested in movement.Sally Pruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15999389456442530903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3658474694942339787.post-68169012528320353092018-03-26T09:23:01.931+01:002018-03-26T09:23:01.931+01:00Well, I for one can't wait to read forthcoming...Well, I for one can't wait to read forthcoming new novels by Patrick Gale, Kate Atkinson and Sarah Perry. Will Self I can take or leave. No, leave.Linda Newberyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03378908274663919794noreply@blogger.com