Simplistic Writing- Effective or Not?
Charles Dickens certainly did not speak in the same voice in which he wrote. This seems to be the trend for most writers as their writing voice is much more sophisticated than their speaking voice; although there are some exceptions, such as Sigrid Nunez. Whether or not this is a positive or negative is up to the individual, Sigrid Nunez incorporates a unique writing style that is over simplistic with more focus on the actual content than the context.
As a Feather on the Breath of God begins the reader is left wondering, “Why are the sentences so childish?” With barely any complex vocabulary words, Nunez’s books can be read, and for the most part, understood by a 5th grader. Certainly many readers will be turned off by this simplicity, but some will love it and call it, “A remarkable, often disturbing portrait… Nunez’s language throughout is spare, utterly lacking in sentimentality.” The Los Angeles Times has a point there; a simple read can be a great read though this particular novel does not fall into that category.
Nunez stated that she likes to write her novels about something from her own past. Wait, wouldn’t that mean that she wrote Non-Fiction? Well, the simple answer is no. Nunez explained that in her novel, The Last of her Kind, the story was written because of her experience in Barnard however many of the events were fictional. So then if many of the events were fictional, certainly many were also factual? This question was posed to Nunez who gave an obscure response that mimicked her writing. Nunez would neither say which parts were true nor which parts were made up. She then stated that, “ it is not good to wonder which part of the novel is true and which is not.” Nunez would not even give a clear answer as to who the narrator was in Feather on the Breath of God, saying that the narrator is identified with her but it is not entirely her. Yes, very obscure to say the least.
Before reading an excerpt from her book, Nunez stated that she was concerned with “character development.” As evident in Feather on the Breath of God, Nunez spends an inordinate amount of time trying to answer the question, “Why are characters the way they are.” While this question is obviously never formally stated in her novel, it can be found in the subtext of the words. Nunez spends an entire chapter on her character’s father’s life, another on their mother’s life, and then two focusing on the character, one about their love affair and another about ballet. Nunez describes her writing as, “meditative writing,” which, according to her, is an essayistic writing style with no plan.
Sigrid Nunez is an author whose writing is simple, incorporates both fiction and non-fiction, and focuses on character development. Interestingly enough, you meet the same woman in person as you do in her writing. Whether or not you love it or hate it, you have to at least commend it for its creativity. Being able to incorporate so much into such a simple form of writing is certainly a task that most writers would not be able to accomplish. But is it effective? At times, though on the flip side there is much repetition that leaves you thankful Feather on the Breath of God is only 180 pages.