Fiction | Mark Rubinstein Blog

“Gone Girl” without any spoilers

August 5, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Okay, I hate book reviews with even a hint of a spoiler, or a whisper about what will happen in the story. Unfortunately, I read some reviews of “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn that clued me into some of the plot mysteries. I won’t do that.

Let me first say this is a wonderful novel filled with plot complexity and wonderful characterizations of Nick and and Amy, husband and wife.

The story unfolds with Amy gone, just disappeared like a vapor into thin air. The narrators are Amy and Nick. The first part of the novel as told through Nick’s and Amy’s eyes has alternating chapters told by each of them.

In a sort of reverse sequencing, Amy’s chapters focus on the past, when she and Nick met and describe the onset of the problems that beset their seemingly perfect marriage. Nick’s chapters, on the other hand, begin on the day of Amy’s disappearance and progress day by day as this nightmare unfolds.

Slowly and inexorably, Amy’s story melds with Nick’s as their respective chapters move closer in time.

Eventually, we get to part 2 describing what happens when the police get involved and slowly, the puzzle of Amy’s disappearance begins to be solved. But that’s only the beginning of the story.

I won’t tell you any more than that. I’ll simply say the story is a chilling tale of duplicity and devilish manipulation. As a reader, you can’t help but turn the pages to find out where it all ends up.

Five out of five stars for a cleverly constructed tale and for hip, stylized storytelling. This is wonderful, contemporary fiction.

Please share...

Writing. Inborn or learned. Part 2

August 1, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

If someone has an inborn talent for writing along with the desire to write fiction, it’s crucial to read, read, read, and to write, write, write.

The value of reading fiction cannot be overestimated if one wants to write fiction. It’s fascinating to read novels by different authors and see what they do-how they use language, metaphor, sentence structure, dialogue, descriptions, and how they transition from one scene to another, or from the present to the past, and back again.

A reader can learn a great deal by observing these things, by looking beyond the story’s content and observing the writer’s form. It’s a process-learning about writing by reading other writers-it happens gradually, incrementally, and without the reader quite realizing it. It happens with time and exposure. There’s no substitute for reading the genre in which you would like to write.

Again, Stephen King’s advice is worth repeating: no matter how talented you are, you’ve got to write in order to get better at it. So, while nature is important when it comes to writing, nurturing one’s inborn ability (by reading) is critical to being a writer.

Please share...

Writing. Inborn or learned? Part 1

August 1, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

It’s the old nature versus nurture question: are some things (talents of many kinds) inborn or can they be learned.

No one has a quick or easy answer to this. For sure, a writer must have certain verbal abilities and love words, whether spoken or written. Such ability comes naturally to some people and there’s little doubt that “nature” is involved.

That being said, I’m reminded of Stephen King’s excellent book, “On Writing,” where he says, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

Aside from mastering the fundamentals of language and the basics of writing fiction, reading fiction (if you want to write it) is crucial.

I’ll have much more to say about this in my next blog.

Please share...

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

July 13, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Well, of course I’m aware that this one won the Mann Booker prize for fiction, so it was a no-brainer to read. It’s a beautifully written literary novel about an older man’s realizations and regrets as he looks back on his life. His ruminations are set into motion by an incident and the story comes together beautifully. It’s melancholic but not depressing and in some ways, raises more questions about the trajectery of the protagonist’s life than it answers. But the journey is what it’s all about. A must-read for anyone who loves well-written fiction.

Please share...