I am happy to say Blue Like Jazz, rather Donald Miller actually, didn't send me to the dictionary once. I am sure he could have sent me there, but it was comforting to sit down and read this popular book and not see any huge words or latin sayings that one in fifty people recognize.
I have doubted myself on more than one occasion because of my vocabulary. I don't think my word bank is impotent, but it sure feels that way when I read "prolixity", "antimacassars", "mien", or "conflagration" in one chapter. If an author stumps me twice in one page I really begin to worry. Even if I tried, I couldn't send some poor bloke to the OED more than once every thirty pages.
It was comforting to have Miller's words roll through my brain without them getting hung up, thus stalling the point mid-sentence. His observations weren't missed and his thoughts were easy to follow. It is good to know writing like this can be published. Neither Miller's vocabulary, or the complexity of his sentences mattered. Yes, he couldn't be illiterate and still get published, but you don't have to sound like Lacan to provoke some thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment