tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post1807570639259590619..comments2023-06-21T18:53:11.897+10:00Comments on Pykk: the shortness of the time left me no opportunity for deliberationUmbagollahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-60586725107920926452012-05-23T04:04:20.931+10:002012-05-23T04:04:20.931+10:00I can't speak for anyone else but I'm glad...I can't speak for anyone else but <i>I'm</i> glad you wrote it twice. And what would I know either, but Kinsella's work leaves me with a similar idea of competence, composure, a person "capable in the business of small talk," a man who can make his way easily through the world, finding friends, discovering pockets of opinion that suit him, then swimming in them with a businesslike backstroke, etc, etc. And his habit of not occupying the brains of strangers or rocks or trees, is a part of that impression. He's not standing on anybody's toes, he's not pretending to read the minds of others, he's not opening himself up to accusations -- stop colonising that Other! But Murray leaves himself vulnerable like that all the time. <br /><br />Integrity is an interesting one; it can look like so many things. Oscar Wilde was flippant: did he have integrity? "Yes but it looked like Oscar Wilde." Did Christina Stead have integrity? "Yes but it looked completely different." Are there times when self-exposure makes a writer's writing <i>less</i> interesting? Tolstoy's opinions on history look heartfelt but they're the part of <i>War and Peace</i> that people skip; the less direct lesson in the story is the bit they like. But Victor Hugo exposes himself all the way through his <i>Shakespeare</i> and that's what you'd read it for, the madness of him shaking his hands and shouting first gossip, then the last set of facts he read about the Egyptian dung beetle.Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-68979797716811751952012-05-22T22:28:59.402+10:002012-05-22T22:28:59.402+10:00I wanted to say something complicated about Murray...I wanted to say something complicated about Murray actually being shy in social relations, whereas I'm not sure Kinsella is (although what would I know) - and possibly Murray's shy as a result of his natural tendency not to self-censor or self-protect, which leads to his having provided opportunities for jeering and so forth. So the person who guards themselves, for fear of social expulsion, and who presents themselves in the world, as I think Kinsella does and Murray does not, as reasonably suave and capable in the business of small talk and self-possession, may be the person who also guards themselves too much when it comes to writing. Self-exposure is unacceptable in many social situations, but it is probably - or at least it's cousins, integrity and lacerating clear-sighted honesty - probably vital to really interesting writing. Not entirely sure if this makes any sense or, indeed, if it is a point worth making. But, since it's the second time I've written or tried to write the comment, I'm jolly well not going to let irrelevance or lack of coherence get in my way, oh no.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-59786190131432260542012-05-16T04:25:24.999+10:002012-05-16T04:25:24.999+10:00Structures inside structures, like human beings, w...Structures inside structures, like human beings, who are small bags of liquid inside large bags of liquid.Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-68533539823497011152012-05-14T23:39:47.517+10:002012-05-14T23:39:47.517+10:00I like a story is a question made larger with ques...I like a story is a question made larger with questions. Reminds me of kids writer Paul Jennings who said his books usually started with the question "What if?". Of course, other writers have other questions. I like the focus not being on PLOT but on something more germane to the work.<br /><br />And yes, structures inside structures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-62387097351438953662012-05-14T01:39:42.268+10:002012-05-14T01:39:42.268+10:00... little structures inside a larger structure, I...... little structures inside a larger structure, I mean, plots inside plots or stories inside stories, or questions inside questions, fractal things piling inside one another.Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-88316220204736732772012-05-13T14:34:59.892+10:002012-05-13T14:34:59.892+10:00I'm wondering if it's a universal truth, b...I'm wondering if it's a universal truth, but "questions" might have been a better word than "plot" or "story" -- a story is a question made larger with questions, so, <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> would be one large question, posed at the start and answered at the end (Q: Will Lizzie marry? A: Yes) lengthened with other questions (Q: Will Lydia get into trouble? A: Yes Q: Will Lizzie dislike Mr Darcy forever? A: No).Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-73464378971754742272012-05-12T23:50:26.205+10:002012-05-12T23:50:26.205+10:00Hmm ... I'm still pondering your first questio...Hmm ... I'm still pondering your first question. Are you suggesting that some books will be one and some the other, or are you looking for a universal truth about plots and stories? What is a plot if it's not also a story? Don't feel compelled to answer this ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-34468947984876994662012-05-12T17:52:41.434+10:002012-05-12T17:52:41.434+10:00It must have disappeared. I've checked the Unp...It must have disappeared. I've checked the Unpublished Comments tray and the Spam tray and they're both empty. Is Blogger being bizarre?Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-62132147241896144302012-05-11T20:55:33.382+10:002012-05-11T20:55:33.382+10:00Did I just send a response or did it just disappea...Did I just send a response or did it just disappear?zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-89573044740140337482012-05-11T14:44:40.475+10:002012-05-11T14:44:40.475+10:00I suppose you can choose to write, but you can'...I suppose you can choose to write, but you can't quite choose <i>how</i> to write. Which must be agony for a lot of writers. (Yesterday I was reading Christina Stead's letters to William Blake and she was wishing she could be Balzac. "If I could plunge ahead with the verse, sense and balance of B. what a good thing!")Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-15464444399462364382012-05-11T00:14:12.246+10:002012-05-11T00:14:12.246+10:00I think you are absolutely spot on - and what an o...I think you are absolutely spot on - and what an odd venture, when you think about it : choosing to write, which is not a shy act, and then doing it shyly.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.com