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I proudly claim the title of literary snob, and will provide you with a quick, unscientific example. Tom Send a noteboard - 26/05/2014 08:15:04 PM

Compare the opening lines of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

with Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson:

Wax crept along the ragged fence in a crouch, his boots scraping the dry ground. He held his Sterrion 36 up by his head, the long, silvery barrel dusted with red clay. The revolver was nothing fancy to look at, though the six-shot cylinder was machined with such care in the steel-alloy frame that there was no play in its movement. There was no gleam to the metal or exotic material on the grip. But it fit his hand like it was meant to be there.

I don't know about you, but to me that contrast is obvious. Nabokov manages to convey quite a bit of information without having to say much at all. Sanderson, by contrast, makes me want to clutch my head and scream out, "Too much description!" It's gross. It's vomited out on the page for people with no imagination. I'm surprised he didn't have Wax's vital statistics in a sidebar so that there would be no ambiguity about exactly how his hero looks.



Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
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Friendly challenge to Larry and other literary "snobs" on the board..... - 25/05/2014 06:44:34 PM 1036 Views
As it happens, I wrote an example last year. - 25/05/2014 07:13:41 PM 996 Views
Nice *NM* - 27/05/2014 02:43:53 AM 422 Views
Fair enough, but do you mind me waiting just a little bit? - 26/05/2014 04:57:18 AM 996 Views
Re: Fair enough, but do you mind me waiting just a little bit? - 26/05/2014 09:10:31 PM 946 Views
I really should read Irving, I see - 27/05/2014 06:10:50 AM 859 Views
Re: I really should read Irving, I see - 28/05/2014 03:01:24 AM 866 Views
Promising opening paragraph, yes, but... - 26/05/2014 10:55:16 PM 761 Views
I think those shifts are part of the character, not something unintentional - 27/05/2014 06:08:44 AM 794 Views
So bad prose is okay if it is intentional? *NM* - 27/05/2014 03:54:34 PM 387 Views
Okay, I do of course miss the perspective of what comes after. - 27/05/2014 06:29:33 PM 689 Views
I proudly claim the title of literary snob, and will provide you with a quick, unscientific example. - 26/05/2014 08:15:04 PM 891 Views
LOL! - 26/05/2014 10:03:50 PM 995 Views
Huh. Lana Del Rey quotes Nabokov... I had not made that connection. - 26/05/2014 11:17:47 PM 972 Views
That quote from Lolita sounds like it is from a romance novel with Fabio on the cover. - 27/05/2014 03:40:37 AM 789 Views
Bah! - 27/05/2014 07:50:15 PM 844 Views
Alloy of Law was great *NM* - 28/05/2014 08:16:26 PM 403 Views
Hell Yeah! *NM* - 28/05/2014 08:36:40 PM 366 Views
The audiobook was pretty great, as well. *NM* - 29/05/2014 09:19:07 PM 423 Views

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