Word: perfectible
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Guest's novel is not perfect by any means. It lacks the polish and tightness of more experienced writers. Her style is pedestrian--at times downright clumsy--perhaps a little too ordinary to be interesting. At points minor characters go flat, the tone varies confusingly, and it becomes hard to determine who's speaking...
...other hand, the confrontation scenes--as when the two couples assemble to discuss their situation--are, as always in Updike, beautifully done. The action could have been dreamed up as a perfect exercise for Method actors--each character has some goal he/she is trying to achieve in opposition to the others, the dialogue subtly belying those ultimate aims. Not only are these scenes masterpieces of construction, they are aided by Updike's finely honed talent for observation. And so, for instance, when Jerry informs Ruth that he's decided to leave her, there are no long metaphysical speculations...
ABOUT HALFWAY through Bits of Paradise, these pictures of bold young people too good for their surroundings fade. In the stories written after 1926, the characters are older, looking less toward their limitless futures than their irretrievable pasts. Gradually, their hopes for perfect marriages or movie star status pass into the distance while everyday acquisitiveness begins to consume them. These later stories are at once less appealing and more challenging...
Coach Bill McCurdy said, "The race was run in perfect conditions. It was a great meet, but we came out on the lower end because they just ran better than...
...Republic, are in themselves art works. The murals date from the 1st century (Han period) and the 8th century (T'ang dynasty); the copies were done over the last 25 years. But the two meet out of time. The copies transmit the electricity of the murals to us, perfect conductors of the spark...