Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Lawrence
I think we would all agree that with the possible exception of textbooks and the like, if you have to stop and reread what the author has written to figure out what he or she meant, the author has failed. Almost as bad is a plodding narrative, typical of the pre-Hemingway era.
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No, actually, we wouldn't all agree with that. The "fault" for prose that might not flow naturally for every single reader does not always lie with the author.
I often have to "learn" how to read authors I've never encountered before. Which involves rereading some sentences from time to time (especially early on) for full comprehension. They may not all become instant favorites of mine, but even for those I can't quite seem to adjust to, I wouldn't automatically attribute it to a failure on the part of the author. Many times it's my fault for being a dense brick who's unable to stretch/adapt. Other times it might be cultural vernacular I'm not familiar with (yet).
No. The notion that every author must write in such a way that every single reader (who is fluent in the language) can easily and instantly comprehend every single sentence in a novel, or be deemed a failure, is not one I'd agree with.