Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed Burning Down the House by Charles Baxter
Review of 'Burning Down the House' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It isn't often I read a book of essays that change my life. I can think of a handful: Benjamin's Illuminations, Kracauer's Theory of Film, Buber's I and Thou... and now this, a selection of work about the nature and practice of writing that, having read, I am now signed on to re-read every so often from now... on.
I was particularly struck by the opening piece on dysfunctional narratives. Has there ever been a more appropriate time to read an essay on the damaging effects of victimless rhetoric? Arguments like the ones Baxter makes in this essay do more than just enlighten various aspects of the craft of writing, they underscore its importance. A point I have so easily forgotten working alone before a blank page.
It isn't often I read a book of essays that change my life. I can think of a handful: Benjamin's Illuminations, Kracauer's Theory of Film, Buber's I and Thou... and now this, a selection of work about the nature and practice of writing that, having read, I am now signed on to re-read every so often from now... on.
I was particularly struck by the opening piece on dysfunctional narratives. Has there ever been a more appropriate time to read an essay on the damaging effects of victimless rhetoric? Arguments like the ones Baxter makes in this essay do more than just enlighten various aspects of the craft of writing, they underscore its importance. A point I have so easily forgotten working alone before a blank page.