Fiction and Empathy
"The full appreciation of fiction, as of poetry, history or drama, depends upon a skilled technique which in turn can only be obtained by constant watchfulness. The aim is the development of a ripe sensibility, capable of sensing the meaning within the meaning of words and sentences. The skilled reader is not dependent on the adventitious aids of easiness or brightness; he is no longer, for instance, dependent upon plot for his enjoyment of fiction, or upon what is called 'actuality' or 'incident', or mere verisimilitude of description. Such things are elementary and they evoke but superficial feelings. They are for the callow reader, or for those moments when an easy escape from trial or tension is necessary. Imaginative experience should induce a sensitiveness towards inner meaning, towards understanding the subtlety and tenderness which an author experiences when he puts himself into plot or character or incident."
from The Reading of Books by Holbrook Jackson.
January 9th, 2010 at 2:14 AM
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January 9th, 2010 at 3:36 AM
Oh, I am just not *sure* about this.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:10 AM
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January 11th, 2010 at 10:11 AM
So it’s about connecting with the author…more so than with his silly, superficial creations?
January 11th, 2010 at 1:51 PM
I wonder what Jackson would think of the plain "no style" style that dominates best-seller fiction these days. It strikes me as the very things he is saying are callow; which could say a lot about current fiction, but also about current readers. I'm not sure I would rush to condemn either, although it strikes me that Jackson has a very romantic ideal about the author's relationship to what gets written. "Tender" is not something a lot of writers feel towards their own writing. LOL