Em moans "Oy vey" and describes John reading Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" aloud to her nightly.
The great writer's excessive detail wears her out.
John explains how Tolstoy and the other great Russian writers have inspired him since he was a teenager, but Em insists, "Nowadays, Tolstoy would NEVER get published."
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3 comments:
I'm with John, I really like Tolstoy. I don't want to read Anna Karenina again, because of the terrible ending, but I've read War and Peace twice with pleasure and would enjoy reading it again. When I was a young woman, I skipped all the historical stuff and just read for the romantic plot(s). The second time I ate up all the historical material, because I love history.
Hahaha. Finding a balance between exposition and narrative is something all writers and readers struggle with. Too little exposition and we can get bored because we don't know enough about the characters and their world to care what happens to them.Too much exposition and we can get bored because we've already gotten the point about the characters and their world, and we want to get to the action already. Even today, author styles run the gamut between those extremes: if the writing is good, they'll each find their tribe. I haven't read Anna Karenina yet, because I know the ending and I'm not ready to face it - but I will.
I have never read Tolstoy, but I did read Chejov and many books by Dostoevsky ("Crime and Punishment" is my favorite by him)... I think Tolstoy is an old fashioned writer.. . His books are hugely monumental... And he is a naturalist writer, like Émile Zola... Yes; I also doubt he would be read or published nowadays
Thanks for sharing dear Emily.
Best wishes, Aquileana ! ツ
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