the reality of novels

that's v interesting, tho it's only a problem if you're trying to save some version of realism

have you ever read any nouveaux romans? somehow never got round to it, think i was mistakenly waiting for my French to get there.

If I had a bit more extra brain space I would pursue this question from a different direction, asking how does our imagination conjure a sense of reality without any immediate sensual input connected to that reality? From there it one could inquire what sort of verbal suggestions best activate that feeling of reality? My hunch is that it may well differ according to the individual, but it would be fun to think about.

xp i don't know, i think not really

i read part of 'tropisms' the other month does that count

i have a robbe-grillet detective novels somewhere that i never cracked

This is a potentially interesting topic that I have nothing to say about right now.

A novel that felt vividly real to me and huge and expansive, while being utterly wild, in a sense what Denis Johnson's Train Dreams. It's all the more amazing because it's actually no more than a novella and yet you feel like you learn everything about the protagonist and his environment. It's all so fucking REAL. I recommend it to everyone.

^^^^^^ seconded

Though I was hoping for the same (+ Graham Greene atmosphere) from his most recent, The Laughing Monsters, and so was a bit underwhelmed.