I just discovered Diane Williams.
One of her stories was in the latest Harper’s and a couple appeared in a recent London Review of Books. The day before yesterday I bought her latest book, “Vicky Swanky is a Beauty”.
I like her stories very much. But the reason I’ve been reading them again and again (they’re very short) is that I'm trying to work out what she’s doing, what her approach to each story is, what her technique is.
I would call Williams a cubist writer. Every sentence approaches the story from a different perspective. Her verb tenses shift constantly, just as in a cubist painting the subject is faceted, viewed from all angles.
Of course, like all good writers (or painters) Williams’ strength is not in her style – which is intriguing – but in the unique universe formed by that style and its power to move the reader. I am moved.
One of her stories was in the latest Harper’s and a couple appeared in a recent London Review of Books. The day before yesterday I bought her latest book, “Vicky Swanky is a Beauty”.
I like her stories very much. But the reason I’ve been reading them again and again (they’re very short) is that I'm trying to work out what she’s doing, what her approach to each story is, what her technique is.
I would call Williams a cubist writer. Every sentence approaches the story from a different perspective. Her verb tenses shift constantly, just as in a cubist painting the subject is faceted, viewed from all angles.
Of course, like all good writers (or painters) Williams’ strength is not in her style – which is intriguing – but in the unique universe formed by that style and its power to move the reader. I am moved.
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