Jeff on Form
There's something about the deadness of the prose and the banality of the sentiment - not to mention the fact that he doesn't actually explain that this is a gay wedding - that makes this a particularly fine Jeff post. You should all go and congratulate him at once.
# posted by Bryan Appleyard : 11:57 AM
12 Comments:
At July 01, 2008 12:11 PM,
Brit said…
Excellent - a definite tang of Pooter about that one.
For someone who has no grasp of storytelling, Archer has sold one hell of a lot of novels.
At July 01, 2008 12:15 PM,
Dick Madeley said…
The gay wedding is implied there in the text, Bryan. It's subtle, I know, but my GCSE English Literature evening class has taught me to spot these nuances. Only the truly gifted writers can carry it off. I think he's also playing clever textual games with us. The unreliable narrator in this story doesn't tell us how he carried 10 ice creams. And I might be wrong but I think there?s something funny about his use of the word ?punt?...
At July 01, 2008 12:56 PM,
Nige said…
you're right about the punt, Dick - and Jeff is truly back on form with this one - not often you get to read such a detailed description of the purchase of 10 ice-creams. The master storyteller...
At July 01, 2008 12:57 PM,
Dick Madeley said…
I think it's such a knowing 'punt', if you know what I mean, Nige.
At July 01, 2008 1:15 PM,
Chris Dornan said…
Yes the execution was awful but the point was a good one (I speak as an inhabitant of the Gay capitol of Blighty), that we have moved on from section 28. And isn't it liberating--for all of us I mean.
At July 01, 2008 4:43 PM,
ian russell said…
ah, an opportunity for the old 99 gag, eh? unfortunately I feel sorry for the old dear....plus I've moved on from all that as well.
but I bet he's had a few offers of ice-creams on her majesty's pleasure!
At July 01, 2008 7:46 PM,
maxine said…
I visited his post via clicking on your link in RSS, Bryan, and felt sorry for him as there were no comments, so I left a comment asking him how he managed to carry 10 ice creams.
Now I have returned to your blog and read your comment thread, I see that this question is a topic of hot debate! I will report back if JA or his ghostwriter answers his comment threads.
I once read half a JA book. I see his prose skills have neither improved nor degenerated in the intervening 25 years.
At July 01, 2008 9:04 PM,
Cleanthes said…
Mind you there is something of the Harry Hutton spoof Johnsons in that blog address...
At July 01, 2008 10:35 PM,
Dick Madeley said…
Perhaps they were chocolate ices... He could quite easily stack them.
At July 02, 2008 10:06 AM,
malty said…
Hail Mary, mugger of Jeff, forgive him for he has sinned.
At July 03, 2008 1:04 PM,
Dennis said…
The anecdote is utterly fascinating. The effervescence of his prose -- his lightness of touch, his stylishness -- is redolent of Nabokov at his playful best.
I count myself fortunate to have breathed the air of England in the same epoch as this giant of literature.
At April 21, 2009 5:11 AM,
?? said…
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