Davila certainly doesn't paint a pretty picture of [novels], but it took revisiting his (lengthy) quote after reading this entire essay for me to realize he was somehow praising the literary genre for its "miasma of inanity." Which fact I think strengthens your argument in the piece. That said, I am reader and a writer of so-called modern novels, so the thoughts in this essay or something I must contend with.
"The tendency of the novel is to normalize, and therefore, to flatten." That's an interesting observation. Many arguments for reading literature in general but particular novels is that it builds empathy. To what extent does empathy lead to normalization or "flattening"? Or is the problem not so much with empathy but with the extent to which modern creators have taken it? (As a contrast, the pity that stays the hands of Bilbo, Frodo, etc. from killing Gollum vs the retellings of classic stories with the twist that the villain is now the protagonist.)
If I'm being frank, writing poetry as a Christian feels extremely easy. Writing compelling fiction (as a Christian) on the other hand demands a lot, and I struggle to find the balance of showing more than just a "thorn of light" without dropping off into pedagogy.
Have you ever read Graham Greene's The Power and The Glory?
I have read Power and the Glory. There are a lot of great novels out there.
Other literary and artistic forms can bring about empathy as well. People cry at operas. I honestly don't think prose fiction has any special angle in that regard. I do think there's a temptation to create empathy through commonality of experience, versus common humanity. That would tend toward flattening.
This article has been a comfort to me in illness. Thank you.
This is the type of article I expected to study at uni. Obviously, that is not what happened. Glad to be able to read it now, it's brilliant.
Davila certainly doesn't paint a pretty picture of [novels], but it took revisiting his (lengthy) quote after reading this entire essay for me to realize he was somehow praising the literary genre for its "miasma of inanity." Which fact I think strengthens your argument in the piece. That said, I am reader and a writer of so-called modern novels, so the thoughts in this essay or something I must contend with.
"The tendency of the novel is to normalize, and therefore, to flatten." That's an interesting observation. Many arguments for reading literature in general but particular novels is that it builds empathy. To what extent does empathy lead to normalization or "flattening"? Or is the problem not so much with empathy but with the extent to which modern creators have taken it? (As a contrast, the pity that stays the hands of Bilbo, Frodo, etc. from killing Gollum vs the retellings of classic stories with the twist that the villain is now the protagonist.)
If I'm being frank, writing poetry as a Christian feels extremely easy. Writing compelling fiction (as a Christian) on the other hand demands a lot, and I struggle to find the balance of showing more than just a "thorn of light" without dropping off into pedagogy.
Have you ever read Graham Greene's The Power and The Glory?
I have read Power and the Glory. There are a lot of great novels out there.
Other literary and artistic forms can bring about empathy as well. People cry at operas. I honestly don't think prose fiction has any special angle in that regard. I do think there's a temptation to create empathy through commonality of experience, versus common humanity. That would tend toward flattening.