Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Allan Massie on The Divine Comedy by Craig RaineThe Scotsman - Hatchet Job of the Year


The subject is however consistent, from the first to the last page. It is sex, and more particularly the sexual organs. The first page is actually dreadful: "After two minutes that felt like six minutes, Rysiek's electric toothbrush – a present from an English friend – had its brief but unmistakable orgasm. Normally, he never cleaned his teeth after lunch, but today he was going to see his dentist. Rysiek Harlan. You will be hearing more about him."

This is affected, mannered writing, and also rather silly. When a character is introduced and named in the first paragraph of a novel, you expect – don't you? – that "you will be hearing more about him". So, why tell us? Not to mention the fact that toothbrushes, whether electric or not, don't have orgasms. If this is an example of "poetic licence", you can keep it.

---SPSmith

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