How many times should one read a novel? This is a question that has been in my mind for a long time. With the amount of time at my disposal, after professional and personal work has been fulfilled and the large number of books which ought to be read, it is indeed very difficult to…
In our effort to understand the making (writing) if fiction, awareness of various strategies can enhance our understanding of one of the most difficult creative processes. Story, Narrative, plot, setting and dialogue have been discussed to some extent in my earlier posts. However one keeps coming across the word ‘structure’ in literary discussion, theory and…
The setting in film Noir movies of Hollywood of the 1950s and 60s, portrayed the cynical attitude and dark motivation of the characters. The “Wrong Man, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Maltese falcon, The Woman in the window, Scarlet street, Detour, Touch of Evil, Diabolique (French), The Stranger, The Innocents (British), Woman on the Run…
In my Plus 2 Advanced English course, we had a one act play titled ‘The Little Man ‘written by John Galsworthy. It is a play about the Universality of the little man who is far taller than all the other characters in the play. What he lacks in terms of physical attributes is more than…
Having discussed the various aspects of fiction and what constitutes the art of writing, I have to dwell upon some books which have occupied a particular space in my thought and often foreground their importance when a discussion of fiction ensues. Largely due to fortuitous circumstances and also because cheap editions of them were available…
Coming to the different forms of narrative, one has to look closely at an epic convention called ‘Medias res.’ In the Iliad Homer plunges directly into the action in the middle of the Trojan War. More famously in ‘Paradise Lost’ Milton takes us directly to Satan ruminating and wallowing in Hell with his comrades. The…
A novel that I had wanted to read for a very long time; a story about the dictator Trujillo who ruled the Dominican Republic for 30 years. The novel is arranged as an episodic narrative tale which follows the events of the deadly, brutal regime from three points of view, that of Urania Cabral, the…
If I were to describe the Discreet Hero by Mario Vargos Llosa, I would call it contemporary. Don Ishmael Carrera and Fanatio Yanaque, both prominent businessmen face a threat and a challenge of sorts from their children. Betrayal, deceit and incest are common and these old men; harbingers of hard work and examples of dedicated…
Romantic poetry or poetry by the Romantic poets will have had a lasting impact in the formative years of every poet. After the formative phase is over, a writer may evolve a poetic voice of one’s own or adopt a more contemporary or impacting narrative poetic form in line with their preference. But who has…
Of love and other demons by Marquez took me into familiar territory; the territory in my cerebral space which is especially reserved for the fictionary tales of Marquez. This space gets activated as the indicators that receive signals begin to infuse my creative imagination, for reading a manuscript from Marquez is like awakening my dormant…