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Masterpiece, or Not?

8/26/2012

1 Comment

 
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I've just finished reading Julian Barnes novel, The Sense of an Ending, which I really enjoyed for a number of reasons. One of the reviews listed on the back cover describes it as a masterpiece.

Which made me start wondering just what is a masterpiece. We all have our own opions and it is a matter of taste, but one thing's for sure, book reviewers have to be really careful about using such words (they're entitled to their opinion of course), because such high praise can only lead to high expectations among readers. 

And if these are not met, you are not only disappointed with the read but also then question its validity and potentially any other reviews from the same source.

That said, I really enjoyed the book, which is published by Vintage Press, it's a simple story and deceptively easy to read. It's told from the perspective of a man who's looking back on his life and dealing with things that happened at university (by and large) and the impact of those times on him (and a few other people) now. 

It's also to do with memories, and how these change with time, and how they become less certain as we age. Amateur writers such as myself can learn a lot from how the book's written. For example, you don't have to write 100k words to tell a story or for your work to be valid; the story can be low key - you don't have to have tons of actions or plot twist: simplicity can be your friend.

But as much as I enjoyed it, it's not a masterpiece in my opinion. A couple of indisputable masterpieces for me are Cormac McCarthy's The Border Trilogy and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast.

These books take you deep inside the story, far, far away from the here and now. Then they bury you in words and ideas, they are poetic and imaginative in ways that take you can never expect. They lead you away from yourself whilst simultaneously taking you deep inside yourself. 

And when you've finished reading you are changed: the book is tattooed on your psyche. You are still savouring and thinking about them a year later and wondering how much more time has to pass before you've forgotten enough to start reading them again.

That, for me, is the difference between a masterpiece and a damn good read.
Cheers.

1 Comment

June 17th, 2012

6/17/2012

3 Comments

 
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Tabla de Contenidos
1. The Darkness Beneath - Free Copy
2. It's All About You


The Darkness Beneath: Sex, Death and Trains, all Yours For Nothing (still!)*

*Terms and Conditions apply: you can get a free copy of my first novel, The Darkness Beneath, by following this link - but hurry! Only the first 100 people to sign up can claim a free copy.

It's All About You - Time to Get the Excitements On
This Wednesday an unsuspecting world will wake/be already awake/fall asleep to the news that my very first It's All About You blog will be published.

And our first contributor will be the very marvellous writer and extremely industrious Maureen Hovermale. She'll be catapulted into the digital stratosphere on the 20th June.

It's All About You will then appear every Wednesday and will probably vary a bit for a while as I'm sure I'll have to get all experimental on the format. 

I've already got five people lined (three writers/two artists) but I'm greedy and want more contributors, and I want them now! And any of these could be you. Yes, that's you I'm talking to, the one looking at your computer or other handy digital device. 

I want to know what turns you on about being creative: what book or work of art gave you the wanna-do's and the I-must's? And when you did done or were all must-ered out, what did you produce?

I want to know about that too, so it's a great chance to show a slice of your work and tell everyone why it thrills you to have created it. You never know, you might even give someone else the wanna-do's and I-must's - and sharing and spreading the power of creativity has got to be, in my opinion, one of the best things any of us can do.

All you have to do is write 250 words on something or someone that inspired you to go create (and supply the quote or a pic of the art work). The second part features an example of your work and another 250 words on why you like it or how it makes you feel or... well, whatever you like really.

The only rule is that this isn't an opportunity to big up a mate, unless you happen to be mates with Cormac McCarthy or Francis Bacon. That said, it doesn't matter where you are in your career: I want to hear as much from the unpublished or unexhibited as much as I want to hear from those further up the success ladder. All are welcome.

If you want to take part, contact me via my blog's comments or comments form, or on the Twitter: @mickdavidson.
Cheers.



3 Comments

Expand My Mind

1/1/2012

5 Comments

 
When it comes to writers we all have our favourites, those we know and love and trust to deliver the goods. However, it's also true that sticking to our favourites means we can get cut off from experiencing other authors. One way out of this is to read books that friends recommend.

Which is where you come in.

This year I want to read 12 new authors and I'd like their names to come from you. All you have to do is suggest an author and if you like, one of their books. I will read one book a month and, if I can, I'll review it too. The only proviso on this is having the time to both read and review the book.

Apart from novels, novellas, short stories books can also be for children, non-fiction, biographies, journalism and travel writing etc. If in doubt, please suggest and give me the opportunity to say no. The only genres I'm not interested in are chic lit, YA, sword and sourcery and possibly a few others, especially anything that is only about violence.

Anything that is too long (Shogun, War and Peace, trilogies) are out of the running given my time restrictions. Sorry.

Also, at the moment I don't have any kind of ebook reader (I'm hoping that will change after my birthday), so they cannot only be available in ebook format.

A very short list of my favourite authors are:
  • Cormac McCarthy
  • Ursula le Guin
  • Laurie Lee
  • Alain de Botton
  • Jorge Luis Borges
  • DBC Pierre
  • Rosemary Sutcliff
So, there you go, please enlighten me with your suggestions by adding them as comments below. I'll let you know when I have enough and when I intend to start reading them.
5 Comments
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    Author

    Mick Davidson is a full time technical writer and semi-full time fiction author. He also finds time for both guitar playing and photography. When not being creative, he is heavily involved in Staring Out The Window research.

    He is definitely in the market for publication and agent representation.

    The links in my blog are doors to adventures and other countries, they don't all land in the most obvious puddle.


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