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/lit/ - Literature

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2220172 No.2220172 [Reply] [Original]

I finished 'Blood Meridian' and am now reading 'A Bend in the River' by V.S Naipaul. Both are well written yet the former uses a lot of jargon, inflated words and strange sentence structure while the latter is the opposite.

For example in Blood Meridian: "The earth fell away on every side equally in its arcature and by these limits were they circumscribed and of them were they locus"

...strange, no?

From A Bend in the river: "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it."

Very straight forward yet clearly expresses an idea.
Isn't simple prose superior to heavy and overbearing flowery prose?

>> No.2220186

Not really. There isn't a universal "goal" of writing which states that the end game is to get the reader to understand in the most efficient manner. The complexity with which someone conveys a point is part of how they convey that point. Yes, you might be able to write just as good a novel with half the words, but it wouldn't be the same novel.

>> No.2220189

Sometimes I like flowery and archaic writing like McCarthy, and sometimes I like clear prose. Fine authors are like sipping different varieties of scotch.

You build up an appreciation for all types as you mature.

Don't be too Orwellian now

>> No.2220190

If that's the only thing you find valuable in prose, then yes, I guess you could call it better.
I like them both.

>> No.2220200

>>2220172
If you're writing a lab report or an insurance claim, clarity is king.
For creative stuff, I like both simple and flowery prose.

>> No.2220214

Blood Meridian went waaaaaay over my head. I stopped reading it halfway through because it was so hard to read.

>> No.2220219

I bet you play games on Easy and prefer dubs to subs.

>> No.2220241
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2220241

>>2220219
I definitely play a lot of games on easy, just to get on with my life after enjoying the story. I don't need enemies to be bullet sponges to enjoy myself.

>playing multiplayer games
>playing MMOs
>playing anything but offline singleplayer story-driven third person shooters
>cultivating an intellect at the same time

>ISHYGDDT

>> No.2220250

>>2220172
She is cute but what happen to her arm? Did that fat neckbeard cut her?

>> No.2220252
File: 595 KB, 491x500, 1322347175969.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2220252

She has a big battle scar on her arm.
Looks like a car accident one.

>make art
>get money
>meet people
>earn power and respect

>aquire hot bitches with battle scars

>> No.2220256
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2220256

>>2220241
>cultivating an intellect

How delightfully poseur, but what other kind of pleb did I expect?

>> No.2220257

I'm trying to make an infographic of all the plant life and shit from Blood Meridian. Holy shit, fuck the southwest.

>> No.2220265

>>2220256
>fat insecure WoW player detected

>> No.2220270
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2220270

>>2220265
>fantasy fan projecting

>> No.2220306
File: 73 KB, 500x700, Padma-Lakshmi.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2220306

>>2220172
Just googled wtf
Padma Parvati Lakshmi born September 1, 1970) is an American cookbook author, actress, model and television host.

>model
>has scar that some people get shun for