I ran across an excerpt today (in English translation) of some dialogue/narration from the modern popular writer, Paulo Coelho in his book: Aleph.(Note: bracketed text is mine.)... 'I spoke to three scholars,' [the character says 'at last.'] ...two of them said that, after death, the [sic (misprint, fault of the publisher)] just go to Paradise. The third one, though, told me to consult some verses from the Koran. [end quote]' ...I can see that he's excited. [narrator]' ...Now I have many positive things to say about Coelho: He is respectable, inspiring as a man, a truth-seeker, and an appealing writer; but one should hesitate to call him a 'literary' writer based on this quote. A 'literary' author knows that a character's excitement should be 'shown' in his or her dialogue and not in the narrator's commentary on it. Advice for Coelho: Remove the 'I can see that he's excited' sentence and show his excitement in the phrasing of his quote.(Now, in defense of Coelho, I am firmly of the opinion, having myself written plenty of prose that is flawed, that a novelist should be forgiven for slipping here and there.)Lastly, it appears that a belief in reincarnation is of great interest to Mr. Coelho ... Just think! He is a man who has achieved, (as Leonard Cohen would call it), 'a remote human possibility.' He has won lots of fame and tons of money. And yet, how his preoccupation with reincarnationnone other than an interest in being born again as somebody elsesuggests that he is not happy!
advice-for-writers aleph art-of-literature authorship birth born-again characterization coelho cohen craft craftsmanship critique critique-of-modernity dialogue education educational excitement fame fame-and-fortune famous-authors faults fortune grammar grammatical happiness happiness-positive-outlook happy human-potential humaneness imperfection inspiration inspirational-attitude inspirational-life inspiring inspiring-quotes islam islamic islamic-quotes koran leonard-cohen life life-and-death literary-criticism literary-theory literature-quotes narration novelist novels paradise paulo-coelho payne phrasing publishing reincarnation roman roman-payne sentence-structure truth writing writing-advice writing-and-art writing-art writing-as-a-profession writing-craft writing-from-the-heart

About This Quote

About Roman Payne

Roman Payne.

Themes

  • Education — The importance of teaching, learning, and intellectual curiosity
  • Happiness — Thoughts on finding joy, contentment, and fulfilment
  • Life — Reflections on the meaning, challenges, and beauty of life
  • Truth — Meditations on honesty, authenticity, and the search for truth

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