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10:05 p.m. - 2009-01-20 David Adams Richards is a Canadian author and he is quite great at creating believable characters, community, and surroundings to life. We follow Richards' characters and can see this all happening. They have depth, they have struggles, they have flaws and they have their moments of mercy. And still I find his writing somewhat boring. David's books are great. Though I have figured out his pattern after only the second book I have picked up. Second in a trilogy apparently too. You have a martyr character and either main character or supporting character who is constantly throwing the martyr to the wolves through their own selfish or delusional actions. The martyr is accompanied by a female, innocent, naive, and usually silent through most of the turmoil. And the rest of the cast is laudable. Except for one misunderstood old man who takes to either the main character or the martyr and is only a page marker in the greater story and all this could have been avoided if he was actually listened to. David loves to draw upon the similes throughout his stories. Plenty of times "as if" creeps into all of his descriptions. A great drinking game would be to read aloud David Adams Richards' work and drink every time you hear the combination "as if..." This doesn't make David a terrible writer. No he's great in his descriptions and the story is pretty solid and you can lose yourself in it all. What I don't get is that it all sounds the same. I'm tempted to get the latest book: "The Lost Highway" to find out if it feels the same as this book and "Mercy Among the Children." A lot of great authors do this. I know of style and how when you have one you have one. But shouldn't an author challenge himself to do something different and daring? Do we award consistency in literature like we do in our food? Isn't literature a form of art? And isn't art supposed to be challenging? What does this all mean? Nothing I guess. It's one man's rant about someone much more educated, successful, and happier than he is.
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