Monday 24 September, 2007

I could disappear completely

Maud Newton links to an article by Stephen Elliot which argues that a writer's personality should not be up for discussion by reviewers. (I think I agree with him). In that article he says, as an aside, 'Similarly, the cultural obsession with Dave Eggers will never take away from the fact that "What Is the What" is a masterpiece.' Which reminded me. I have meant to blog on the subject of What is the What:The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. It's brilliant. The author's voice is totally subsumed by the voice of the young man, Valentino, who's story Eggars is telling. It is, in effect, non-fiction, but with fiction's sense of pattern and poetics. It's one of the best novels I have read in years. Eggars himself has talked about this process: 'Very early on, when the book was in a more straightforward authorial voice, I missed the voice I was hearing on the tapes. So writing in Val's voice solved both problems: I could disappear completely, and the reader would have the benefit of his very distinct voice.' There you have it. The definition of the perfect writer. One who disappears completely.