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StrawberryFields_ t1_je6oam2 wrote

True artists like Proust, Joyce and Woolf perfected stream-of-consciousness a century ago. This book is boring and unimaginative (which naturally reflects the mind of its writer).

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McGilla_Gorilla t1_je6qix0 wrote

Ehh I don’t think that’s fair to say. The way we think today is different than the way we thought 100 years ago - this is quantifiable in the case of things like attention span. So it’s reasonable to try and adapt the form of the novel to reflect what the author feels are new patterns of contemporary thought.

That said, I don’t think Ellmann necessarily achieved her goal. But you can point to authors like Gass or Morrison or even Faulkner and see how they use stream of consciousness in a way that’s unique and innovative vs the European modernists.

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