Friday, April 8, 2011

Why I Don't Read Fiction: Crab Orchard Review




















Title:

Because I Was In Bondage

Author:

E. Shaskan Bumas

First line:

"One year, I'm not sure which, Easter Sunday was celebrated in the middle of Passover week."

Last line:

"She thinks we can wind up one stop shy of grace, that we might get into heaven anyway on some sort of affirmative action program for spiritually challenged heathens."

I didn't read this story but judging from the lines above I think it deals with religious in/tolerance.

6 comments:

  1. That last line is sort of incredible. Really bad.

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  2. You didn't read it because you think it deals with religious intolerance? That's not a viable subject for a story? I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.

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  3. I didn't say "because" I said "but". I didn't finish reading it because it's terrible.

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  4. I think Robbie takes issue with the dullness of the sentences. Notice the passive voice in the first. You could do a good story on that subject, or on any subject, but it would have to be well-written or at least surprising in some basic way.

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  5. Well, yeah. One sees vague writing all over, I think. Thanks for the clarification, though. I came away from your post thinking you didn't read the story because you thought it dealt with religious intolerance and I was curious about that stance.

    On another note, I like the first sentence/last sentence approach. That's an interesting way to quickly get a "feel" for a story.

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  6. Yeah, what Mike said. A story needs to get me within the first few paragraphs. If it doesn't I'll quit reading it (even if it's assigned in class). This is why I couldn't get a credential that requires reading fiction.

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