Word: novelness
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...particular strengths of O’Connor’s writing are perfectly fitted to the form of the short story, which becomes increasingly apparent by comparing her short fiction with her novel “Wise Blood.” The novel follows the many disturbing encounters of the sardonic prophet Hazel Motes, who preaches the idea of the “Church Without Christ” while wandering through the South. Accordingly, the novel seems to be a series of stories strung together, but the incidents and violence lose their sting when compiled on top of each other...
...Wise Blood” seems almost tacked-on, simply to leave the reader with a sense of finality. At the end of the book the corpse of Hazel Motes is returned to his boarding house after he runs away because his landlady is pressuring him to marry her. The novel comes to a close as the landlady looks into Hazel’s eyes “trying to see how she had been cheated or what had cheated her, but she couldn’t see anything... she felt as if she were blocked at the entrance of something...
Some may argue it is unfair to judge the difference between short and long fiction by examining an author such as Flannery O’Connor who is acclaimed for her stories and not her novels. However, this somewhat lopsided example conveys the specific strengths of the short story. While not offering the complex world of a novel, a short story collection can offer genuine snapshots of real human activity. Perhaps American life is better represented through these short visions than through the grand and singular narrative of a novel...
...Tocqueville’s Discovery of America” reads more like a novel than a deeply-investigated historical text. Damrosch weaves insights pieced together from his extensive research with many of Tocqueville’s own words and those of his companion, Gustave de Beaumont, to construct a biography of Tocqueville. Scattered throughout the text are illustrations of Tocqueville, the people he met, and the scenery he witnessed on his journey, contributing to the authentic, accessible feel of the book. In addition, the intimate details of Tocqueville’s life—from his loss of faith...
...graphic novel is fantastic, period. [The film] is one of the closest translations I’ve seen from graphic novel to film and that alone is going to set it apart,” said Evans...