Responding to quotations from his novels that he apparently doesn't want people to read, Jim Webb is ringing the usual Democrat bells sounded after criticism from Republicans. That is, this is a smear from Evil Genius Karl Rove.
Webb insists, as do all authors of sexually explicit scenes in novels, that his scenes advance the plot and illuminate the characters and situations. We aren't going to invest our precious SWNIDish time in finding out. Life on earth is currently too short to waste on novels that aren't widely acclaimed for a long time (i.e., "classics").
But we will stand by our admittedly out-of-context evaluation that these excerpts of Webb's purple prose have all the hallmarks of the sensationalistic, titillating style and objectives that predictably "spice up" potboiler fiction. These generally don't advance plot as much as they appeal to the voyeurism of the reader, covering for the absence of real plot, characters, conflict or significant themes.
It takes a writer of exceptional skill to do otherwise with sex, and even then, the results are debatable. We cite John Updike as evidence. Updike is certainly one of the greatest American fiction writers of the second half of the twentieth century, renowned for his ability to chronicle the travails of his era and social class. He is also renowned for his thoughtful portrayal of religious and moral issues from a Christian vantage point (gentle readers who haven't partaken of his brilliant, early short story "Pigeon Feathers" should do so immediately). He is also renowned for his graphic depiction of sex (none in the aforementioned story, but this is the very reason we hesitate to recommend Updike to others with the exception of this story and other pre-"Rabbit" work). And even with his moral and literary skill, he provokes critics to ask whether his sexual scenes are merely gratuitous displays of literary virtuosity in the service of voyeurism.
And Webb is no Updike. No one in critical circles is asking the question about Webb that they ask about Updike. No one in critical circles is asking any questions about Webb. Webb isn't writing literature; he's just having fun and making dough writing forgettable pulp that shocks.
We grant that America's bookracks are filled with paperbacks--read by so-called respectable, middle-class people, and sometimes written by prominent public figures--that have all that Webb wrote and more. We simply say that this is nothing to be proud of, and it may reveal more about the people who write and read this stuff than they care to admit.
And so we ask whether the voters of Virginia want to mainstream and lionize the demeaning depiction of sexuality by electing a purveyor of pornographic prose to represent them in the nation's highest legislative body.
No comments:
Post a Comment