I think C. S. Lewis (of all people) has a useful comment on how to comment on texts, essentially saying that it's wiser to talk about the effect the work has on the reader than about the writer's intentions. His example is 'this is an afterthought,' which he knew it wasn't, having written the book, but he would have liked to know why it looked like one. It is awkward with living writers, though. Myself, I have one friend who is an author, and I normally use the possibilities of my reviewing his work as a threat...
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2006-06-25 10:41 am (UTC)It is awkward with living writers, though. Myself, I have one friend who is an author, and I normally use the possibilities of my reviewing his work as a threat...