It has only been in the last few months that I have discovered The Plotless Novel. I didn't realize that such a thing existed until I started reading Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. I got halfway through it and gave up. (I Wikipedia'd the plot twist, and there was one, but I didn't care about it at all. I wish the book had been about Hobie.) This was also the case with Gringos and seems to be the case with Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, although the latter actually has a main character that I like. I got to exactly halfway just now and I am not sure if I will continue. (My library loan is about to expire.) What I enjoy about a plotless novel is that it is incredibly realistic. Life has its stories, but life doesn't have a plot. It seems to me that an author really must create a dynamic protagonist in order to have a plotless novel. I suppose that's why Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead has been the plotless novel I have enjoyed the most. I really disliked the main characters for the other two books. I suppose people really like plots, and that makes sense, because people like to believe that there are Reasons for everything and that Everything Will Work Out, even though that doesn't always happen. A plot makes us feel grounded, makes us feel like our lives are going somewhere, even though we may not be. A plot is comforting. Guess I'll go back to Beauty's Kingdom. Lately I've been listening to After Hours by The Weeknd. It's like an album of Sad Night Crimes. I took a nap today and woke up to the news that John Prine had passed away. So sad. I was hoping I'd get to see him live some day, as I missed him when he came to town on the Tree of Forgiveness tour. He will definitely be missed by many. Was checking out Austin Kleon's blog and found this great little interview with Billy Barr, who generally lives a self-isolating life. This small interview really resonated with me, as someone who went to the store today and thereafter vowed to never go to the store again. This was my favorite part:
About 20 years ago, Barr added a movie room onto his cabin. It has a projector, carpeted walls, and three chairs. "I have a nice chair for me and I have two other chairs with the idea that I'd invite people up," he said. "And I never do." Honestly, I'm having such a good time in quarantine that I have nothing to talk to my therapist about tomorrow. This can go on forever as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that I miss is the library, and I can still get ebooks, so...there's that.
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AuthorArtist, essayist, divinity school dropout. Here for a good time, not for a long time. Archives
February 2024
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