tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post4077632257657911087..comments2024-03-23T06:50:28.304-05:00Comments on PERPETUAL FOLLY: The New Yorker: "Twins" by C.E. MorganUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9878002.post-5040955200485915312010-09-07T23:38:23.692-05:002010-09-07T23:38:23.692-05:00I agree: it does read like an excerpt. It plods fo...I agree: it does read like an excerpt. It plods forward like a novel. But, even though the twins are interesting characters, and their father is too, I can’t say I want to read the novel. The plot goes nowhere in these pages, and I don’t expect it will go somewhere if given many more pages to work with. It’ll probably loop around the same themes, which we’ve grasped in the excerpt.<br /><br />The language deserves some comments. Morgan is very fond of sentence fragments, for instance, often piled into lists. Furthermore, there are similes and comparisons everywhere: some are convoluted, some are protruding, some are just there. E.g., “she simply sat cross-legged on the floor like a worn, hapless Buddha, a child on each thigh,” “[she] petted him on the head as though he were a sweet dog,” “he trailed around the room like a phantom,” and so on. Rich imagery comes up here and there (“[the sun] pressed smothering heat into his face, causing itchy rivulets of sweat to travel into his hair”). But there are often missed chances, like this description, which didn’t shine as much as it could have: “they woke to the astonishing crystal light of morning flooding through the huge windows.”<br /><br />The plot does reach a peak near the end, where it delivers a blow with all its emotional muscle. But it used far too many pages to reach that point, and it’s enough about the twins for me.F. Escobarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14518434944616309743noreply@blogger.com