|
I tried to be explicit that I didn't criticize Cixi as a choice (I voted for it; moreover, I enjoyed it), but that having read it, I was again interested in trying to define parameters for literary non-fiction, since I didn't think it made the grade. As has been pointed out and I absolutely agree, you take your best shot when nominating, but you can't tell until you've read a book - and even then people can disagree.
In considering some of our choices, I think we all agree (and I could be wrong) that the beautifully-written A Time of Gifts qualifies as a literary work. But then Conquest of the Incas didn't qualify for desrtblues. For me, it did; the rigor of the scholarship and the quality of the writing that rendered the world of the Incas virtually palpable to me put it in the literary class. On the other hand, even when I nominated Testament of Youth, I had reservations about its status as literary. An important and well-written book, yes, but I still don't know that it hits the literary mark.
I'm not trying to limit our choices! I think we all agree that we do aspire to a certain standard of literariness or quality (which seems to me an easier distinction when it comes to non-fiction), that's the point of the club. So I think a discussion, to the extent people want to discuss it, can be interesting even though we've been there before. I also think it's a reasonable point of discussion for any book that's chosen, even if we don't care to take it outside a particular work.
|