And then I read IJ - after a hiatus of 2 days - and I say "Ah. Uh huh. There is a purpose for a piece of fiction, just as there is a purpose for a great painting, a work of art."
Tonight I have learned about DFW's "high-def-videophonic-mask" and I am quite amused (especially given that I am using my "handblogger" to bring you this "blog post") and impressed by DFW's view of the future.
A view and and sensibility that can come only out of fiction...
Fiction rules, man. Just finishing up Malcolm "why-use-just-one-eg-when-eight-will-do?" Gladwell's "The Tipping Point." It's interesting enough (like "Blink," which I read some years ago) but ultimately kind of flat. Good ideas presented w/o a hint of art. Not that art was MWUJOEWEWDG's intention...but I contrast this with my man Shakespeare. I had a positively scintillating conversation about the B. at of all places my gym last night, with of all people the gym mgr who it turns out is a Shakespearean actor prepping for a role in Measure for Measure. You could not have the conversation we had last night if you were discussing "The Tipping Point." Here's how it might go... A: "I read 'The Tipping Point.'" B: "Me too." A: "Some interesting ideas there." B: "Yup." A: [...] B: [.] And so on.
ReplyDeleteNot fiction, man.