While I was enjoying a little downtime last week, I read three good novels: Train Dreams (Denis Johnson), The Marriage Plot (Jeffrey Eugenides), and In One Person (John Irving).

 

Though each has quite a bit to recommend it (and the Eugenides novel resonated the most personally), I think I like Irving’s latest the best (what craft he has). One short paragraph made me chortle because it is so, so true: “I just love it when certain people feel free to tell writers what the correct words are. When I hear the same people use impact as a verb, I want to throw up!” (p. 376)