Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I hadn’t read a word of Tobias Wolff. And I don’t usually enjoy read-alouds. But the twain met, twice, in recent weeks as Wolff read stories on bookish shows I happened to catch. It was his voice — the way his speaking carried his written — that aroused my interest. So I added him to the list of writers I want to spend time with down the road. Then, suddenly, not more than a few blocks away, I ran into him again. I was trolling amongst the rubble when I spotted his Pen/Faulkner Award-winning novella for the price of a piece of fruit. What I didn’t appreciate about the story was a double-switch between first and third person. What I did appreciate was nearly everything else. I was especially taken by Wolff’s ability to concisely craft his characters. He doesn’t waste a word. Speaking of which, the “Barracks Thief” is single-sitting short — even for this slow reader — and so good I know they aren’t the last Wolff-authored words I will read.

This post was added on Friday, August 01, 2008 by Tom Swift at 01:03 and is filed under Reading Material.