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Tom Stewart's Reviews > A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
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Upon first read of Saunders鈥� selection of stories, I actually did not see their merit. I didn鈥檛 feel much for them and I didn鈥檛 read them as 鈥渕asterpieces.鈥� Art is subjective, but also, for certain Saunders is a more astute reader than I. But I enjoyed it that way, exploring what Saunders loves about them as he champions their storycraft and beauty. If the stories鈥� depth that he argues for were so prima-facie obvious it could preclude the greater value of this book.
Saunders argues that the chief attribute of storycraft is causation. Later he praises the 鈥渉appy confidence鈥� (I utterly love that) of Gogol to beautifully write something extraneous to the plot. So, Saunders contradicts himself. However, he also quotes Nabokov saying that great writers routinely contradict themselves. Kinda funny, and I wonder if that all was intentional. Can鈥檛 help thinking of Whitman, 鈥淒o I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.鈥�
The Chekhov chapter Gooseberries alone is worth the book. It鈥檚 full of interesting literary insight, but even better is all the humanistic warmth. And that鈥檚 the best stuff of writing anyways.
I improve as a writer by improving as a human; I can improve as a human by improving as a reader. This book does that. I plan on revisiting A Swim in a Pond in the Rain soon.
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Friends, on the first Tuesday of the month I send out a short newsletter with updates on my current novel-in-progress, thoughts on any standout books I鈥檝e recently read, a literary thought or two, and a glimpse of this writer's life in small town, coastal Tofino, Canada. Staying connected with those who appreciate my work greatly motivates me. If interested, please sign up here
Saunders argues that the chief attribute of storycraft is causation. Later he praises the 鈥渉appy confidence鈥� (I utterly love that) of Gogol to beautifully write something extraneous to the plot. So, Saunders contradicts himself. However, he also quotes Nabokov saying that great writers routinely contradict themselves. Kinda funny, and I wonder if that all was intentional. Can鈥檛 help thinking of Whitman, 鈥淒o I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.鈥�
The Chekhov chapter Gooseberries alone is worth the book. It鈥檚 full of interesting literary insight, but even better is all the humanistic warmth. And that鈥檚 the best stuff of writing anyways.
I improve as a writer by improving as a human; I can improve as a human by improving as a reader. This book does that. I plan on revisiting A Swim in a Pond in the Rain soon.
---
Friends, on the first Tuesday of the month I send out a short newsletter with updates on my current novel-in-progress, thoughts on any standout books I鈥檝e recently read, a literary thought or two, and a glimpse of this writer's life in small town, coastal Tofino, Canada. Staying connected with those who appreciate my work greatly motivates me. If interested, please sign up here
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Quotes Tom Liked
“That鈥檚 the whole game: Becoming convinced that there is a voice inside you that really, really knows what it likes, and getting better at hearing that voice and acting on its behalf. [...] How emphatically can you like what you like? How long are you willing to work on something, to ensure that every bit of it gets infused with some trace of your radical preference?" -George Saunders”
― A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
― A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
“There鈥檚 a vast underground network for goodness at work in this world鈥攁 web of people who鈥檝e put reading at the center of their lives because they know from experience that reading makes them more expansive, generous people鈥�”
― A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
― A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
Reading Progress
July 11, 2022
–
Started Reading
July 11, 2022
– Shelved
July 28, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Jul 28, 2022 08:41PM
Great review, Tom! This is in my 'to read' list. Glad you enjoyed it!
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Thanks Helga. :) Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on ASWiaPitR (heh).
I loved this book! It is a semester of learning about how to read intelligently. It is written from both the writer鈥檚 and reader鈥檚 perspective. I first heard of Saunders on NPR and bought his collection of short stories, 鈥楾he Tenth of December鈥�. All that he has learned about good story telling is put to work here but with a singular creativity.
From here, I went on to read 鈥楲incoln in the Bardo鈥�. A brilliant novel that cements Saunder鈥檚 reputation as being the finest and most creative living writer.
Great review ! This book elicited the same response from me initially: these stories are masterpieces?! But as a trudged along I found myself enjoying them and appreciating them much more, especially the 2 Tolstoys which I think I would have enjoyed even without George鈥檚 dissection. I will be trying my first full length Tolstoy novel this year now for sure
That's great, Grimshaw.
