Re: CHAT: Conlang and Writers

> Okay. I haven't read any of her texts. I suspected, from things that I'd
> heard, that "Native Tongue" might be radically feminist. But I have so
> little time for fiction reading these days, I'll probably focus on other
> authors who I know I can enjoyably read.
It's not the radical feminism that's the problem.  It's not GOOD feminism,radical or
otherwise.  And it's not good story-telling.  You want a
feminist novel that is chilling, gripping, and beautifully told, go read _The
Handmaid's Tale_, by Atwood.  I got as far as the men's club chapter in
E's novel, where they all sit around and make jovial and patronizing remarks
about women, and I thought what a pale imitation this is of the "Don't let the
bastards grind you down" chapter in Handmaid.  Atwood can make a complex
man you love to hate, but who has depth.  But she also knows how to pace
her story.  Everything in E was cardboard, and endless ENDLESS never getting
to the point.  But then, I seem to have a short fuse these days, and am low on
patience.

Sleepless and edgy in upstate.