Word: metaphoritis
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...interest is in the development of the social organism. Holub uses immunology, the study of what the body recognizes as "self" and "other," as model for studying the political problems of insiders and outsiders. His best essays in Shedding Life carefully tread this line between scientific fact and political metaphor...
...stylistic quirks similarly mar otherwise breezy and enjoyable prose. Benfey has a tendency to hammer metaphor into oblivion. A similar tautological impulse marks his usage of apt and striking details. The New England ice shipped to New Orleans for use as refrigeration is mentioned prominently three times in fewer chapters. And phrases like "we will have more to say in coming chapters" are irritatingly common, tantalizing us as Benfey rambles down some other tangential avenue...
...AIDS novel that has the titanic as a central metaphor is a bit obvious. Which is what Allan Gurganus clearly intends. Nothing about Plays Well with Others (Knopf; 353 pages; $25) is coy, demure or otherwise closeted. In fact, the author of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All now tells more than many readers, gay or straight, may have the patience to hear...
Bailey is the keeper of the flame, the one who tells us to leave nature's other creations alone. The writing gets corny at times, referring to nature as "the Powers," and already overdone Star Wars metaphor. Of course frivolous mankind gets ripped up in its ignorance as the power plant blows up, killing many of its staunchest supporters (who were working at he plant) and leaving a symbolic power plant itself. The citizens' unquestioning radioactive cloud over the helpless town...
...only failing of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a recurring metaphor it uses--and overuses--to unify its many narrative strands. "You go up when you're supposed to go up and down when you're supposed to go down...When there's no flow, stay still. If you resist the flow, everything dries. If everything dries up, the world is darkness." This is the philosophy impressed upon Okada by Mr. Honda, an elderly psychic with a weird fascination with phlegm. This analogy, intended to emphasize the nature of Okada's adventures in existential wackiness, is repeated throughout...