Franzen Recalled

Cars and books get recalled for different reasons. But the brakes should have been put on this recent publication in the UK of Freedom, which careened foolishly, skidding on typos. Franzen has insisted his fans be allowed to exchange their compromised copies for the real thing, the final draft, though 80,000 copies in hardback remain in Britain, tantalisingly full of subtle characterisation alternatives, and spelling differences. Does such a multiplication of authorial intent wonderfully express the liberating nature of published text, which surely must resist the author's will, or is it merely slipshod and annoying?

No writer wants typos; each gets them in their turn. Like other physical deformities (one leg shorter, a pimple, a tic), each carries them as best they can - all books are marred by them, as all bodies have their imperfections. Typos can lead to value - collectors often like such flawed variants, but in this case the market is flooded with duds. But, apparently, the flaws are invisible to the naked eye of the average reader. Even Blake Morrison has confessed to not noticing them (though he was reading to review, not to correct proofs). Was it precious of Franzen to react so promptly? Eyewear has yet to read the masterpiece, in either its pristine or marred versions. It would be good to hear from buyers of the rubbished edition.

Comments

Andrew McMillan said…

Just finished the original copy of the book. Can't say I noticed any typos but perhaps that is testament to ones immersion with the narrative. It is a highly accomplished book but I'm not sure if it's a masterpiece. What it says it says beautifully but quite whether it says something Delillo and others like him, and earlier the likes of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller haven't already said I'm not sure.

Certainly a must-read and one of the best novels I've read for a long time. But, for me it didn't change the game, just narrated quite perfectly on the one already being played

Sat Oct 02, 07:12:00 pm 2010

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

When you open your mouth to speak, are you smart? A funny question from a great song, but also, a good one, when it comes to poets, and poetry. We tend to have a very ambiguous view of intelligence in poetry, one that I'd say is dysfunctional. Basically, it goes like this: once you are safely dead, it no longer matters how smart you were. For instance, Auden was smarter than Yeats , but most would still say Yeats is the finer poet; Eliot is clearly highly intelligent, but how much of Larkin 's work required a high IQ? Meanwhile, poets while alive tend to be celebrated if they are deemed intelligent: Anne Carson, Geoffrey Hill , and Jorie Graham , are all, clearly, very intelligent people, aside from their work as poets. But who reads Marianne Moore now, or Robert Lowell , smart poets? Or, Pound ? How smart could Pound be with his madcap views? Less intelligent poets are often more popular. John Betjeman was not a very smart poet, per se....

Poetry vs. Literature

Poetry is, of course, a part of literature. But, increasingly, over the 20th century, it has become marginalised - and, famously, has less of an audience than "before". I think that, when one considers the sort of criticism levelled against Seamus Heaney and "mainstream poetry", by poet-critics like Jeffrey Side , one ought to see the wider context for poetry in the "Anglo-Saxon" world. This phrase was used by one of the UK's leading literary cultural figures, in a private conversation recently, when they spoke eloquently about the supremacy of "Anglo-Saxon novels" and their impressive command of narrative. My heart sank as I listened, for what became clear to me, in a flash, is that nothing has changed since Victorian England (for some in the literary establishment). Britain (now allied to America) and the English language with its marvellous fiction machine, still rule the waves. I personally find this an uncomfortable position - but when ...

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..."

In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

Search This Blog