This one inventories verbs on one page of a Larsson book and compares his verb choices to those of Cormac McCarthy and Stephen King.
This one looks at his characters' dialogue and throws in for good measure some sample dialogue from two writers who I believe do it better.
This one, actually my first blog post on the subject, contains a sample rewrite of a short Larsson passage.
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3 comments:
I well remember your earlier posts about this, of course. But I have a different perspective now.
Until recently, I had never heard of Cormac McCarthy. I still know practically nothing whatsoever about Cormac McCarthy. But right now I am reading "The Outlander" by Gil Adamson, and one of the review quotations printed on the cover describes it as "the kind of book Cormac McCarthy might write should he make a woman his main character and Canada his setting".
Don't get me started on the "should he make a woman his main character stuff." So many writers that could apply to.
But, back on topic: McCarthy's special. He's not for everyone. But, personally, though I haven't read all his stuff, I'm awed by him.
Thanks for the tip about "The Outlander." I'd check it out if only it weren't for that god-awful Canadian stuff (just kidding!).
Hi June,
I've recently stumbled across you blog re Larsson (To my delight, I might add) and feel so vindicated after upsetting friends by criticising these poorly written, creepy novels. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that you should keep up the good work and maybe post some more This Is How It's Done Larsson entries.
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