The Art of Subtext

Beyond Plot

By: Charles Baxter

Narrated by: Mike Lenz

The Art Of series, edited by Charles Baxter, is a new series of brief books by contemporary writers on an important craft issue. Each book investigates an aspect of the craft of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry by discussing works by authors past and present. The books in The Art Of series are not strictly manuals, but serve listeners and writers by illuminating aspects of the craft of writing that people think they already know but don't really know.

The first book in The Art Of series of books on the craft of writing, fiction writer and essayist Charles Baxter's The Art of Subtext discusses and illustrates the hidden subtextual overtones and undertones in fictional works haunted by the unspoken, the suppressed, and the secreted. As Baxter notes in one essay, "A novel is not a summary of its plot but a collection of instances, of luminous specific details that take us in the direction of the unsaid and unseen." Using an array of examples from Melville and Dostoyevsky to contemporary writers Paula Fox, Edward P. Jones, and Lorrie Moore, Baxter explains how fiction writers create those visible and invisible details, how what is displayed evokes what is not displayed.

©2013 Charles Baxter (P)2022 Scribd Audio

Destruction of Subtext

Full disclosure, I have not finished this book, and I got it with some unfair expectations. I had heard it referenced elsewhere in the context of education on writing, and jumped to the conclusion that it would be worth my time in that context.

After about fifty minutes (about 20% of the book), I concluded I was mistaken. To be fair, the description of the book tried to tell me as much: "The books in The Art Of series are not strictly manuals." I truly did leap to its acquisition.

I find myself leaving a somewhat low rating and a desire to write this review not from disappointment in a hamburger ordered from a vegan restaurant, but because I found the text so perplexing. It seems to celebrate subtext by destroying it. The descriptions tear away the subtext to declare at length what was being said beneath the surface, which I find an oddly unsubtle means of celebrating subtext.

This is exacerbated in my mind by the thought that, since this is subtext being discussed, these interpretations could at times run contrary to authorial intent. It's fine if they do, subtext usually allows and asks for subjective interpretation, but its a distracting thought to consider in context.

In short, this book wasn't for me, and I'm not sure who it is for. If one enjoys the classic works the author chose to discuss and would like to hear them interpreted and praised, then I imagine it could be an enjoyable experience for them. Also worth noting is I gave up 20% of the way in, and perhaps the remaining 80% is solid gold. I just realized the only reason I personally was continuing to listen was sunk cost fallacy, which seemed the right time to stop.