I recently bought The Anatomis by Federico Andahazi because it was only 1,00 euro and was a best seller in Latin America. I can't find out anything about the book except a handful of reviews on Amazon that are mostly disappointed, and to be quite frank so was I.
The style reeked of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the wrong ways. It had his style and tone with none of his nuances. The birth of Mona Sofia in Corsica, her kidnapping by pirates, her eventual sale into prostitution first to a caring woman who raised little girls with love to sell their bodies and then washing up along the shores of Venice's most notorious school for whores went too quickly. She strikes out on her own at 15 and stakes her claim on the loins of all of Venice, including Mateo Colombo, who resolves to find his America in order to win her love.
A story about the discovery of the clitoris, that involves the church, the Renaissance, and papal feuding should have had me on the edge of my seat or at least breaking an erotic sweat, but it did neither.
But it did serve as a prime example of who a writer, who does have talent, but not their own style - who has an interesting story, but rushes too quickly; can write a book. Not a great book or a terrible one, but a book nonetheless.
A lot of the mistakes I felt were evident in the book are many of the mistakes I commit in my own writing. But I believe that reading to improve your writing is much like tennis - if you play with someone better than you, you get better and if you're good and play with someone worse, well your skill on the page declines.
But every story has a lesson, and so armed with the knowledge that I can recognize my own mistakes, I shall write. Hopefully better.
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