Word: prose
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...mythical feel of the novel is not without its problems, however. Lim often intersperses Han's dream sequences with the more direct prose of the remainder of the novel, presumably because these visions help to chronicle Han's transition, even within her lifetime, from a mortal to a goddess. This technique also results in a great deal of befuddlement for the reader; the line between a stylistic intent and a confused style becomes unclear. Events may occur rather believably in one chapter, before being contradicted when reality is revealed in the next...
...point, the birth of Han's child is recorded twice, in almost identical prose, with only the sex of the child different in each account. Only pages later is the reader able to separate Han's hallucinations from reality. But meanwhile, as Han rants to everyone who will listen, "I gave birth to a son. I saw him. I touched him," the reader does not know whether to believe her claims or dismiss her delirium as does everyone else. But Lim may just intend to make the reader empathize with Han's own confusion at the admittedly odd circumstances...
...elegant style could have salvaged even this book, but Delbanco's prose comes up short. Delbanco seems unsure how best to tell his story, so he tells it all ways. Old Scores is a pastiche of almost every type of novel imaginable. Various passages belong to college novels, bodice-rippers, epistolary novels and memoirs...
Certainly Delbanco is conscious of the mechanics of his prose--quite literally, in fact. Ballard twice upbraids other characters for improper use of gerunds. Like Ballard, Delbanco has an ear for "pretty mots all in a row," and obviously takes care to produce affecting sentences. Unfortunately, his sometimes clever phrases usually detract from the overall quality of the work. Entire paragraphs are sometimes included just for the sake of one pun. Some sentences read like Delbanco took a thesaurus and looked up a longer synonym for any word under six letters...
...Arthur Ashe's Days of Grace, secured the cooperation of Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, who gave him full access to her private papers and the archives of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The result of Rampersad's research may strike some readers as unduly dry and academic. The prose sometimes seems stiff: "He thought of himself and his future in terms of moral and social obligations rather than privilege and entitlement." Missing here is the fiery Robinson old-time fans remember not just running the bases but also thundering around them, leaving spectators in the box seats swearing they...