Today I went to the National Library of Australia's Flight of the Mind conference - and, well, my mind took flight! The conference title comes from Virginia Woolf: The old problem: how to keep the flight of the mind, yet be exact. All the difference between the sketch and the finished work. Today's program focused … Continue reading Flight of the Mind: Day 1, Summary
Literary style
Marion on Marion (Halligan)
A few days ago I posted a review of Marion Halligan's latest book, Valley of Grace, and mentioned that Halligan had attended my bookgroup meeting at which we discussed the book. I didn't, however, share in that post all of the things that Halligan told us - and I won't in this post either. Some … Continue reading Marion on Marion (Halligan)
This of course doesn’t make any sense
Lisa, over at ANZLitLovers, has produced a list of some of the main features of postmodernism. It just so happens that I am also reading a postmodernist book, Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is illuminated (from which the title of this post comes). I've only just started the book but it is exhibiting those features of … Continue reading This of course doesn’t make any sense
Truth in fiction?
One of the things we readers regularly talk about is the notion of the truths we find in fiction. I like to collect what authors have to say about this, particularly in their own fiction, and so thought I'd share a few with you. But first I'll start with one from Richard Flanagan that doesn't … Continue reading Truth in fiction?
Think twice about questioning an author!
I have to admit that I'm not one of those readers who gets too hung up about accuracy in fiction. After all, fiction is, by definition, a work of imagination, and not of fact. And so, when I read fiction I'm pretty good at suspending my disbelief. I'm more interested in the world created by … Continue reading Think twice about questioning an author!
What do I mean by spare?
If you asked my kids what my favourite mantras are, they would probably include "less is more" as one of them. This is not to say that I don't enjoy flamboyance and "over-the-topness", because I most certainly do, but it is true that I am more often drawn to what I would call "the spare". … Continue reading What do I mean by spare?
Whispering Gums 