From Charles Dickens, John Grisham, and Others, difficult ease makes it work

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the  epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was....."' The rest of the quote adds up to one long paragraph whose lines may appear to be simple or easy writing, while being far from it. That's how classics come to be, making the difficult appear easy to the point of the obvious. Yet, it was Dickens who thought of writing it that one memorable way in a form to earn rapt attention. Millions of readers have remembered the opening words of A Tale of Two Cities because Charles Dickens opened his story with a distinctive form of balance, imbalance, variety and similarity.    

The feeling and passion of Dickens enter at the first line. Since he shows such passion, we immediately sense the importance of his subject. Every writer hopes to uncover the rare quality of that first paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities or the words describing a character as "Bah humbug" describes Scrooge. The latter says so much more than could be said through many words. To find that elusive, perfectly fitting kind of expression is what every practicing writer wants. 

It's likely that you and I can tell within the first paragraph of any new read whether or not it is our kind of book. If the style or flow suits what we're looking for, we willingly spend time with it. In fiction I can go from John Grisham, C.J. Box, Mary Higgens Clark and others, to Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Patterson and others, knowing there will be either a good story or a good story plus mind-expanding writing. 

Mainly, I think that you and I love to find the style that reads smoothly yet not too simply. We want clarity along the lines. And if you're like me you want to be intrigued. The likes of Jane  Austen, Charles Dickens, and Charlotte Bronte lead the fiction expectations of English readers.

Our brains adjust to and forgive hiccups, especially in the case of translations into English. I willingly adjust to tiny errors in books by Qiu Xiaolong, a Chinese writer now living in the U.S. His stories include historical and sociological views of life in Shanghai. My eyes are opened so that I feel that I can almost touch the laundry that hangs high and low across narrow passage-ways. I bear with ubiquitous poetry lines and references far outside what I call familiar, because the writing flows toward its goal regardless of how much, along the way, I don't know where the author is taking his story and me along with it. 

This is all part of the intrigue of what minds and language can do in capable hands. We can be in familiar and foreign territory at emotional and other levels. From a still place we move with characters that seem alive and in our imaginations are living, acting, and reacting. And in Qiu Xiaolong's world, today's Chinese leaders issue new dictionaries of allowed and disallowed phrases. Listening to U.S. Conversations and arguments I relate to our version of the Chinese dictionary of approved/disapproved phrases. "PC" is here, too.

What words and style give reading meaning? You and I ultimately decide on the books we choose without wondering about others' approval. We know what we like, what we want to recommend, and the living authors whose next work we are eager to read. 

Current Reading: Political News or the Likes of John Grisham?

John Grisham at Keenum Leadership Forum (Photo credit: msulibrary1)

Protest signs seen during Occupy DC and Occupy K Street near the White House 10/27/2011 (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Around Washington, DC, where I live, the subjects of politics and power are common denominators all the time, with heightened intensity near election time, about two too-early years in advance.

Gimmicks and techniques for delivering political news vary, like the difference between throwing words rather than delivering well-thought-out observations and well-researched facts.

Did you see the footage of rare but frustrating expedited deliveries in the news recently? A couple of rogue employees of a private package delivery company had been throwing customers' packages over fences and into the weeds, so to speak...not exactly at the front door. It's like that with certain elements of election coverage, political reporting, and commentating today, as words and thoughts are thrown and bogged down in political weeds. Some hit hard surfaces but can't break, being as light as cotton candy: lots of empty air inside the packaging.

Don't doubt me now. I do read some of that stuff, sometimes seeing through it and sometimes not until clarifications come to light later. That may be why I turn to good fiction stories, rather than bad news fiction. Really, the weaker the quality of news reporting, the stronger the pull of reading page-turner suspense fiction.      

Last night I came to the end of The Litigator by John Grisham. What number is this newest by Grisham? Maybe his 20th or so legal thriller? With this one, Mr. Grisham brought a turbulent story with humor and serious fact and repercussions in a way that gives lots of smiles. Positive is the final effect, not boredom. And I say, "Grisham did it again!" He's made up a whopper of a tale based on believable events of flawed but compelling characters, Harvard and not, with current events, product industry troubles, stock market changes, courts, and lawyers. The info, humor, and suspense would make a good movie if adapted, cast, and directed by filmmakers that know their stuff. Could that ever happen with the increasingly boring political campaign attacks? Not gonna happen, methinks. I LOL'd more than a few times on this Grisham joy ride with Chicago litigation and litigants, tort rapaciousness running amok, and K Street (DC) lobbyists' costly shenanigans. Mr. Grisham seems to know today's K Street with its new construction for shiny new high-rises for lobbyists in that part of town.   

John Grisham is one of many talented story tellers. I check out library books by the dozen and realize all the time how many more little-known, super smart, and talented writers there are. Some are writing detective/mystery fiction, including historical fiction as well as contemporary themes.

They don't throw words around carelessly or with obscuring cleverness. They don't reek of useless negativism or mean exaggerations except to show the true colors of both, using them to bring together suspense and enjoyment altogether. The author nails the conclusion at perfect speed with just the right tension up to the end. It's all positive for the best thriller effects.  

If you read the newspapers, you have time to read, so why not balance it with some really good fiction that admits it's fiction? Yeah!

Copyright (c)2012 Opinari Writers

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