100% agreed! I found it meandering, dreary and empty too - and found it staggering that anyone could be taken in by this overindulgent litany of 'it's an infinite regression of a big load of nothing - the book is the house - wow!' As you said, it's been done much better in far fewer words by better writers already. I was actually surprised by how boring it was, because I actually have nothing against excess as a technique - but only if it works. But let's face it, few writers are able to use superabundance effectively - I can only think of a handful. While all writing styles, techniques and devices can be hit or miss, most, if used sparingly, aren't going to immediately send the reader packing if they don't like them, because those devices don't outstay their welcome. Excess, by definition, is a technique that, if ineffective, is liable to turn off readers rapidly, and from which a book won't recover.
100% agreed! I found it meandering, dreary and empty too - and found it staggering that anyone could be taken in by this overindulgent litany of 'it's an infinite regression of a big load of nothing - the book is the house - wow!' As you said, it's been done much better in far fewer words by better writers already. I was actually surprised by how boring it was, because I actually have nothing against excess as a technique - but only if it works. But let's face it, few writers are able to use superabundance effectively - I can only think of a handful. While all writing styles, techniques and devices can be hit or miss, most, if used sparingly, aren't going to immediately send the reader packing if they don't like them, because those devices don't outstay their welcome. Excess, by definition, is a technique that, if ineffective, is liable to turn off readers rapidly, and from which a book won't recover.
About artistic excess:
Recently I watched Sergio Leone's film ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST... and it was long. Boy, it took its time.
Still: the acting was good, and the atmosphere; the landscape and sets were mouth-wateringly gorgeous (and speaking of gorgeous: Claudia Cardinale)...
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is an "arthouse Western" that teeters dangerously close to bloat. But it takes real talent to balance on that edge.
Exactly!