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kirkles 's review for:
Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative
by Jane Alison
This book came in HOT, and I thought that perhaps it would merit 5 life-changing stars--the rating I give for books that change my life. It alllllmost did. It came so close! I also felt that in its attempt to transform my thinking and be an 'ice-axe for the soul,' it elevated my thinking about narrative to some extent, but not fully. I felt that the middle could have been stronger and more attentive, though it's difficult to say how it could have achieved that.
The book ended on a very strong note as well, with the example of _Cloud Atlas_ and the tsunami form. Her dissection of Mitchell's novel and its narrative patterns was terrific.
Because so much of what Alison talks about is very visual, not to be childish or reductive or anything, but how about having more detailed and specific visualizations or illustrations of what she's envisioning for each of the novels and stories she dissects re: narrative pattern? Rather than reducing her ideas to a simple diagram, I believe that more visualizations would have elevated and magnified her theories about these narrative patterns and how they played out in each work of fiction.
It would have also perhaps helped to have read the books she references in _Meander, Spiral, Explode_, though she did do a nice job of clearly communicating how these narrative patterns play out in the examples she provides. I think this book is destined to become a new classic, and it would be marvelous to see an illustrated version of it some day!
The book ended on a very strong note as well, with the example of _Cloud Atlas_ and the tsunami form. Her dissection of Mitchell's novel and its narrative patterns was terrific.
Because so much of what Alison talks about is very visual, not to be childish or reductive or anything, but how about having more detailed and specific visualizations or illustrations of what she's envisioning for each of the novels and stories she dissects re: narrative pattern? Rather than reducing her ideas to a simple diagram, I believe that more visualizations would have elevated and magnified her theories about these narrative patterns and how they played out in each work of fiction.
It would have also perhaps helped to have read the books she references in _Meander, Spiral, Explode_, though she did do a nice job of clearly communicating how these narrative patterns play out in the examples she provides. I think this book is destined to become a new classic, and it would be marvelous to see an illustrated version of it some day!