It’s my own superficial observation but after reading samples of the novel and seeing Penn being interviewed on the TV talkshow circuit, I can’t avoid thinking this is all some type of Kaufmanesque performance art. My assumption is probably way off base though since Penn hasn’t shown signs of having a sense of humor since 1982.
Thank you. Some years ago my sister-in-law talked me into reading Beloved. I finished it but as I said when I handed it back to her, it is a powerful book that puts paid to the myth that the happy little darkies were better off under slavery, but man, is it ever opaque. I put it down to my preferred genre being speculative fiction which is more direct.
W. E. B. Griffin
I made it through his military series, The Brotherhood of War. It starts with characters in WWII. We see them advance in rank and are commanders during the Korean war. The books varied in quality. Some pretty good and others I barely got through.
I began looking at Griffin’s Cop Series. It follows the identical template. We’re introduced to rookie officers. Follow their careers and then they become commanders. The focus shifts to the next generation of cop characters.
Griffin cranked out hundreds of books under various names. He wasn’t the worst. But, his books were just barely readable.
So much of his writing sounds the same. He obviously reused ideas and character traits in his various books.
Yeah…I had to read *Beloved *for a writing program I was involved with. Boy, was that a slog. Everybody told me I’d love it and hate the other book we had to read (The Goldfinch) but I ended up loving The Goldfinch and not finishing Beloved. Maybe I just don’t like “poetic” writing. Get to the damn point, people! 