• Anti-Spam Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • DMCA Compliance
  • Earnings Disclaimer
  • Fair Use Disclaimer
  • FTC Compliance
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Social Media Disclaimer
  • Terms and Conditions
NewYorkDailyNewsOnline.com
  • Home
  • US News

    This is how to use travel rewards to save big on an Aruba family vacation 2023

    Bill Maher says Tyre Nichols, California shootings prove America’s culture of violence goes ‘deeper than race’

    Capitol Rioter Who Attacked Officer Brian Sicknick Sentenced To More Than 6 Years

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Tyre Nichols arrest video to be released by city of Memphis

  • Politics

    Calls Grow For Congress To Pass Police Reform After Tyre Nichols Video

    It’s ‘Adios!’ to ‘Aloha!’ as the Left-wing Word Police Strike Again

    David DePape Interrogation Interview Released

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

  • Business

    Americans Are Gobbling Up Takeout Food. Restaurants Bet That Won’t Change.

    Elon Musk sets aside his strained relationship with Joe Biden to meet with top White House aides

    Sam Bankman-Fried tried to influence witness through Signal: DOJ

    Chevron Rides High Oil Prices to Record $35.5 Billion Annual Profit

  • Technology

    Gene Wolfe Was Sci-Fi’s Most Enigmatic Writer

    NASA’s ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ aced first flight and is ready for crewed Artemis II launch • TechCrunch

    ‘Menswear Guy’ Marks a Shift in Twitter’s Main Characters

    Google created an AI that can generate music from text descriptions, but won’t release it • TechCrunch

  • Science

    The American West’s Salt Lakes Are Turning to Dust

    Ibuprofen shortage: US hospitals are facing critically low supplies of liquid ibuprofen

    How Sensor-Dangling Helicopters Can Help Beat the Water Crisis

    Thames Water and Severn Trent Water are still using dowsing to find leaks

  • Books

    EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE | Kirkus Reviews

    New Jesmyn Ward Novel LET US DESCEND Coming in October

    MURDER GROVE | Kirkus Reviews

    Book Riot’s Deals of the Day for January 27, 2023

  • Film

    The Flash is Secretly Supergirl’s Best Superhero Mentor

    Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar-nominated role is just one part of a banner year

    Doc Depicts Warriors for a Women’s Right to Choose – The Hollywood Reporter

    Superman’s Major Transformation Just Got The Perfect Tease

  • Music

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge Is Developing a Tomb Raider Series

    Rick Astley Enlists “Blurred Lines” Lawyer to Sue Yung Gravy Over Vocal Impersonation

    Country Music Artists Who Have Performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl – Billboard

    Live Review: Composer Randy Edelman @“Dont Tell Mama” in New York City 1/26/23

    Live Review: Composer Randy Edelman @“Dont Tell Mama” in New York City 1/26/23

  • Television

    Memorable ‘Last of Us’ Detour, NFC and AFC Championships, CBS on ‘Fire,’ BBC’s ‘Frozen Planet’

    ‘Drag Race’ Recap: Season 15 Episode 5 — Amethyst vs. Salina EsTitties

    Ginny & Georgia Showrunner Breaks Down Season 2’s Biggest Twists, Including That Shocking Cliffhanger

    Get a First Look at ABC’s Star-Studded 50th Anniversary Singalong (PHOTOS)

  • Style

    12 Stylish Short Hairstyles From The 60’s

    Ziwe Makes Her Runway Debut at Paris Fashion Week

    Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Relationship Timeline

    How To Sport Pixie Hairstyle For Different Face Shapes?

  • Contact
    • About
  • Home
  • US News

    This is how to use travel rewards to save big on an Aruba family vacation 2023

    Bill Maher says Tyre Nichols, California shootings prove America’s culture of violence goes ‘deeper than race’

    Capitol Rioter Who Attacked Officer Brian Sicknick Sentenced To More Than 6 Years

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Tyre Nichols arrest video to be released by city of Memphis

  • Politics

    Calls Grow For Congress To Pass Police Reform After Tyre Nichols Video

    It’s ‘Adios!’ to ‘Aloha!’ as the Left-wing Word Police Strike Again

    David DePape Interrogation Interview Released

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

    Can Freedom of Speech Destroy Freedom of Speech? Facebook Says Trump Can Come Back. By Howard Bloom

  • Business

    Americans Are Gobbling Up Takeout Food. Restaurants Bet That Won’t Change.

    Elon Musk sets aside his strained relationship with Joe Biden to meet with top White House aides

    Sam Bankman-Fried tried to influence witness through Signal: DOJ

    Chevron Rides High Oil Prices to Record $35.5 Billion Annual Profit

  • Technology

    Gene Wolfe Was Sci-Fi’s Most Enigmatic Writer

    NASA’s ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ aced first flight and is ready for crewed Artemis II launch • TechCrunch

    ‘Menswear Guy’ Marks a Shift in Twitter’s Main Characters

    Google created an AI that can generate music from text descriptions, but won’t release it • TechCrunch

  • Science

    The American West’s Salt Lakes Are Turning to Dust

    Ibuprofen shortage: US hospitals are facing critically low supplies of liquid ibuprofen

    How Sensor-Dangling Helicopters Can Help Beat the Water Crisis

    Thames Water and Severn Trent Water are still using dowsing to find leaks

  • Books

    EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE | Kirkus Reviews

    New Jesmyn Ward Novel LET US DESCEND Coming in October

    MURDER GROVE | Kirkus Reviews

    Book Riot’s Deals of the Day for January 27, 2023

  • Film

    The Flash is Secretly Supergirl’s Best Superhero Mentor

    Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar-nominated role is just one part of a banner year

    Doc Depicts Warriors for a Women’s Right to Choose – The Hollywood Reporter

    Superman’s Major Transformation Just Got The Perfect Tease

  • Music

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge Is Developing a Tomb Raider Series

    Rick Astley Enlists “Blurred Lines” Lawyer to Sue Yung Gravy Over Vocal Impersonation

    Country Music Artists Who Have Performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl – Billboard

    Live Review: Composer Randy Edelman @“Dont Tell Mama” in New York City 1/26/23

    Live Review: Composer Randy Edelman @“Dont Tell Mama” in New York City 1/26/23

  • Television

    Memorable ‘Last of Us’ Detour, NFC and AFC Championships, CBS on ‘Fire,’ BBC’s ‘Frozen Planet’

    ‘Drag Race’ Recap: Season 15 Episode 5 — Amethyst vs. Salina EsTitties

    Ginny & Georgia Showrunner Breaks Down Season 2’s Biggest Twists, Including That Shocking Cliffhanger

    Get a First Look at ABC’s Star-Studded 50th Anniversary Singalong (PHOTOS)

  • Style

    12 Stylish Short Hairstyles From The 60’s

    Ziwe Makes Her Runway Debut at Paris Fashion Week

    Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Relationship Timeline

    How To Sport Pixie Hairstyle For Different Face Shapes?

  • Contact
    • About
No Result
View All Result
NewYorkDailyNewsOnline.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Books

In Praise of the Overwritten

by admin
May 11, 2022
in Books



This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

I’ve noticed a trend in online reviews recently, in which reviewers criticize books for being “overwritten,” for having flowery prose, for being too descriptive or too lyrical. As a lover of this kind of writing, I find myself mystified, and a little perturbed, that so many people seem to treat the overwritten not as a matter of personal taste, but as an objective flaw.

There are a million ways to write a book, a thousand and more prose styles. Some people like direct, straightforward, to-the-point writing. Some people like prose that’s funny, familiar, and inviting. Some people like plot-focused prose, and others like books full of long passages that linger on characters’ inner lives. If you don’t like lyrical books, or books that are full of description, that’s just fine. To every book its reader. I’m not here to criticize anyone’s personal taste or to convince you to like something you don’t like. Beautiful writing is, by definition, subjective.

But I do take offense at this word “overwritten,” and I must push back against the notion that books with this kind of prose are somehow objectively bad.

On the one hand, I can understand where some of the criticism comes from. Literary fiction (a term and a classification I hate and would like to go away forever, but that’s another essay) has a reputation for being dry and boring. It’s the sort of writing so many of us were forced to read in school — the realm of dead white men, a genre that seems to still live in the popular consciousness as pretentious, unrelatable, and impenetrable. Of course, literary fiction, for lack of a better term, encompasses so much more than this. But I get the frustration that comes from years and years of one kind of book (i.e. classics) being valued, in certain bookish circles, over other kinds of books (i.e. romance, sci-fi). It’s exhausting and infuriating. And so it’s easy — and extremely satisfying — to use words like “overwritten” to describe books that trip over themselves in their gleeful use of language. It’s a signal, maybe, to readers who don’t want to read that kind of book, to stay away. Enter at your own risk: page-long paragraphs and sentences stacked with endless clauses of intricate detail. Okay, fair.

But where does this word, overwritten, come from? And why must we criticize books for their prose, instead of simply expressing a preference? Maybe I’m too soft. In the years since reviewing books has become part of my day job, I’ve become less and less interested in criticizing them. It’s not that I love every book I read, or that I think every book is good. And it’s not that thoughtful criticism has no place in conversations about books and art. It absolutely does. I have complicated, contradictory, critical thoughts about books all the time. When something doesn’t work for me, I’m not afraid to mention it. But I’ll be honest: these days, I find critiquing books for their prose…well, boring.

Today In Books Newsletter

Sign up to Today In Books to receive daily news and miscellany from the world of books.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

By signing up you agree to our terms of use

Books are not real life. They’re made of language. So what’s wrong with books that go wild with it, that revel in it, that are stylistic and purposely artful? Give me all the flowing sentences. Give me the books that go on and on about the texture of bark on a tree, the shade of blue in a winter sky, the scent of a pie your mother used to make in childhood, one that you remember every fall when the air turns crisp. Give me twisting, churning, tangled descriptions of internal turmoil, pages and pages of it, no room to breathe, characters who think and think and think, every thought inked onto the page. Give me meandering descriptions, a whole page that tumbles off into some minor character’s backstory. Give me words and words and words, sentences like music, sentences aware of themselves and their rhythm, sentences that exist because they can, because what a marvel it is to string words together like this into meaning, to surprise and unsettle with imagery, to read a book that sings.

My love for this kind of writing is a preference. I also love books that are opposite of lyrical and descriptive: funny, stark prose, prose that is anything but artful, fast-paced action-centered prose, prose that simply tells it like it is, no frills, no flowers. The kinds of books I’ve seen described as overwritten — Real Life, Cantoras, and The Goldfinch, to name a few — are not better than books I love for other reasons. They are wordy, and I love words! There’s room for all kinds of prose, and all kinds of stories. Isn’t that fabulous? Can’t we just celebrate that?

I am not asking anyone to love the books I love. I am simply asking all of us to stop using this strange word, overwritten. Let prose be grandiose and maudlin if it wants to be. Let books describe emotions and memories and landscapes in more detail than anyone in real life ever would. It’s not an inherently bad thing. It’s just one way, out of millions, to write.



Original Source Link

Previous Post

Legacies: Final Episodes of Season 4 Delayed as Renewal Decision Looms

Next Post

The Desert’s Fragile Skin Can’t Take Much More Heat

admin

admin

Next Post

The Desert’s Fragile Skin Can’t Take Much More Heat

Miami’s Bitcoin Conference Left a Trail of Harassment

Expert approved steps on how to clean your oven and stovetop

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PopularPosts

A Playbook for Science Denial, ‘Scientific Phallocracy’ in the Animal Kingdom, and More

June 20, 2022

How The GOP Used Trump, And Why They Can Dump Him And Still Harm America

July 11, 2022

Roswell, New Mexico Season 4 Episode 7 Review: Dig Me Out

July 26, 2022

New York Hamptons ritzy rental homes invaded by woman on multiple occasions: report

July 18, 2022

How we covered the creator economy in 2022 • TechCrunch

January 1, 2023

Stargirl Drops Action-Packed Season 3 Trailer

July 11, 2022
Genius Dog 336 x 280 - Animated

Categories

  • Books (1,780)
  • Business (2,614)
  • Events (10)
  • Film (2,593)
  • Interviews (3)
  • Music (2,631)
  • Politics (2,565)
  • Science (2,014)
  • Style (1,924)
  • Technology (2,568)
  • Television (2,626)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • US News (2,611)

RecentPosts

The American West’s Salt Lakes Are Turning to Dust

by admin
January 28, 2023

This story originally appeared on High Country News and is...

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE | Kirkus Reviews

by admin
January 28, 2023

by Mike Pence ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2022 The...

The Flash is Secretly Supergirl’s Best Superhero Mentor

by admin
January 28, 2023

Flash turns out to be Kara Zor-El’s best mentor when...

Memorable ‘Last of Us’ Detour, NFC and AFC Championships, CBS on ‘Fire,’ BBC’s ‘Frozen Planet’

by admin
January 28, 2023

A curated critical checklist of notable weekend TV. Original Source...

12 Stylish Short Hairstyles From The 60’s

by admin
January 28, 2023

From Twiggy’s stylish pixie cut to Marilyn Monroe’s blonde short...

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Is Developing a Tomb Raider Series

by admin
January 28, 2023

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is set to write an upcoming series based...

Editor's Picks

James Gunn Addresses ‘Titans’ & ‘Doom Patrol’ Cancellations

January 27, 2023

Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar-nominated role is just one part of a banner year

January 28, 2023

Trump Easily Bests DeSantis For 2024 Republican Nomination in Turning Point USA Straw Poll

July 31, 2022

Browse by Category

  • Books (1,780)
  • Business (2,614)
  • Events (10)
  • Film (2,593)
  • Interviews (3)
  • Music (2,631)
  • Politics (2,565)
  • Science (2,014)
  • Style (1,924)
  • Technology (2,568)
  • Television (2,626)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • US News (2,611)

Don't Miss!

James Gunn Addresses ‘Titans’ & ‘Doom Patrol’ Cancellations

January 27, 2023

Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar-nominated role is just one part of a banner year

January 28, 2023

Trump Easily Bests DeSantis For 2024 Republican Nomination in Turning Point USA Straw Poll

July 31, 2022

© 2022 Copyright - NewYorkDailyNewsOnline.com - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • US News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Science
  • Books
  • Film
  • Music
  • Television
  • Style
  • Contact
    • About

© 2022 Copyright - NewYorkDailyNewsOnline.com - All Rights Reserved

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT