(no subject)
Nov. 21st, 2004 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foi_nefasteAccording to critic Lisa Johnson, Carol Shields' writing is "differently coherent". Meant in a complimentary manner, of course. Because this is a post-modern technique for overturning the patriarchy of narrative. Or something.
...Am I the only one who wants to point out that you can either be coherent, or you can be incoherent? You don't create your own coherence - and patriarchy isn't necessarily a part of narrative, people. Spending the first 30 pages of a book on a woman making a pudding isn't going to change it. And making that pudding symbolic of dying during childbirth in the middle of said kitchen doesn't make it any better. It's not coherent. It's not even differently coherent. It sucks.
Being 'differently intelligent' can also mean that you're as dumb as the average shrub *cough*. I'm not sure how 'differently coherent' is supposed to endear me to the entire, well, incoherent nature of the book. I'm really not.
*groans*
Am going to bed. Will bullshit this essay tomorrow. Ideally, tomorrow evening, after an evening of Beautiful Thing and ideally a drink or two. It will make me differently perceptive.
...Am I the only one who wants to point out that you can either be coherent, or you can be incoherent? You don't create your own coherence - and patriarchy isn't necessarily a part of narrative, people. Spending the first 30 pages of a book on a woman making a pudding isn't going to change it. And making that pudding symbolic of dying during childbirth in the middle of said kitchen doesn't make it any better. It's not coherent. It's not even differently coherent. It sucks.
Being 'differently intelligent' can also mean that you're as dumb as the average shrub *cough*. I'm not sure how 'differently coherent' is supposed to endear me to the entire, well, incoherent nature of the book. I'm really not.
*groans*
Am going to bed. Will bullshit this essay tomorrow. Ideally, tomorrow evening, after an evening of Beautiful Thing and ideally a drink or two. It will make me differently perceptive.
