I think I lean more Ochuko than Pandora on the florid writing scale (FWS?). I recently read the Ministry of Time and some of the metaphors were so overworked I felt that I could see the shadows of all of the thesaurus searches behind every word.
This was so validating, my Mum gave me a copy as a graduation gift (from my favorite bookstore here in NYC, Three Lives and Co!) because On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous moved me so much when I read it in 2021 but I've been stuck at the halfway mark for a month now and felt a lot of guilt about not being at all motivated to pick it back up. I did love the line "...he let the wind know his unwashed hair and shut his eyes against the cold coming off the river, feeling almost clean." He captures New England so beautifully, Dunkin coffee cups, broken dreams, the whistle of Amtrak trains, all details omitted from my personal idealized vision of it growing up in Portland, OR (Ochuko, amd I right in thinking you've also lived in Portland?) that I've become aware of now that many of my best friends are from interior towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut. I'm still not sure if I'll pick it back up, might follow Ochuko's thought and pick it back up when it cools down a few months from now.
Gosh, I've had a signed copy of this book sitting on my to-read pile for nearly two months, and I just haven't been able to shake the feeling that it's going to be a slog (despite LOVING "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous"! despite Kiese Layman's "Heavy" being one of my favorite reads of summer last year!). This validated all of those feelings – we'll see if / when I pick it up.
Re: the discussion around autofiction, I actually bought this book while meeting a former MFA student of Ocean Vuong's for coffee. When he saw me holding it, he griped that he felt that Ocean actually made it sound much more like autofiction than it is, and felt it was a disingenuous reflection of his background (which has mostly been spent in academia). Who knows if that's true, but after reading your conversation, it makes me wonder if there are gendered expectations around how much is too much or not enough of oneself to reveal in autofiction – his critique of this book felt more "A Million Little Pieces" than "All Fours."
I think I lean more Ochuko than Pandora on the florid writing scale (FWS?). I recently read the Ministry of Time and some of the metaphors were so overworked I felt that I could see the shadows of all of the thesaurus searches behind every word.
Co-sign!
I need to know who told Kaliane Bradley that good writing requires five similes per page.
I love Kaliane Bradley! So I’m maybe more florid than I think…
I liked it, didn’t love it, but agree the language is beautiful. I also didn’t expect to get Gilmore Girls vibes but did. The setting, seasons, etc.
This was so validating, my Mum gave me a copy as a graduation gift (from my favorite bookstore here in NYC, Three Lives and Co!) because On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous moved me so much when I read it in 2021 but I've been stuck at the halfway mark for a month now and felt a lot of guilt about not being at all motivated to pick it back up. I did love the line "...he let the wind know his unwashed hair and shut his eyes against the cold coming off the river, feeling almost clean." He captures New England so beautifully, Dunkin coffee cups, broken dreams, the whistle of Amtrak trains, all details omitted from my personal idealized vision of it growing up in Portland, OR (Ochuko, amd I right in thinking you've also lived in Portland?) that I've become aware of now that many of my best friends are from interior towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut. I'm still not sure if I'll pick it back up, might follow Ochuko's thought and pick it back up when it cools down a few months from now.
I love these observations, Lucy, and agree—the cleanliness of the cold is so evocative!
Gosh, I've had a signed copy of this book sitting on my to-read pile for nearly two months, and I just haven't been able to shake the feeling that it's going to be a slog (despite LOVING "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous"! despite Kiese Layman's "Heavy" being one of my favorite reads of summer last year!). This validated all of those feelings – we'll see if / when I pick it up.
Re: the discussion around autofiction, I actually bought this book while meeting a former MFA student of Ocean Vuong's for coffee. When he saw me holding it, he griped that he felt that Ocean actually made it sound much more like autofiction than it is, and felt it was a disingenuous reflection of his background (which has mostly been spent in academia). Who knows if that's true, but after reading your conversation, it makes me wonder if there are gendered expectations around how much is too much or not enough of oneself to reveal in autofiction – his critique of this book felt more "A Million Little Pieces" than "All Fours."
The words ‘MFA student’ and ‘griped’ seem to often go hand in hand 😆
It's the gripe as an art form!