I mean, every novel's a historical novel anyway. But calling something a historical novel seems to put mittens on it, right? It puts manners on it. And you don't want your novels to be mannered.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that all novels reflect historical contexts, and labeling them as historical can constrain their authenticity and creativity.
Colum McCann's quote highlights the idea that fiction inherently contains elements of history, as all narratives are influenced by the time and circumstances in which they are written. By defining a novel as a 'historical novel', it may impose limitations and expectations that could stifle the author's creative freedom, ultimately leading to a more constrained and less genuine storytelling experience.
In practice
In a discussion on modern literature, you might say, 'As Colum McCann pointed out, every novel reflects its historical context, but we shouldn’t cage our creativity with labels.'
Goodness was more difficult than evil. Evil men knew that more than good men. That's why they became evil. That's why it stuck with them. Evil was for those who could never reach the truth. It was a mask for stupidity and lack of love. Even if people laughed at the notion of goodness, if they found it sentimental, or nostalgic, it didn't matter -- it was none of those things, he said, and it had to be fought for.
She takes another long haul, lets the smoke settle in her lungs-- she has heard somewhere that cigarettes are good for grief. One long drag and you forget how to cry. The body too busy dealing with the poison.
It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.
It struck me that distant cities are designed precisely so you can know where you came from.
And I suddenly think, as I look across the table at him, that these are the days as they will be. This is the future as we see it. The swerve and the static. The confidence and the doubt.
I am of the opinion, and even more so the older I get, that it is more difficult to have hope than it is to despair. And I mean this in the sense that in order to have hope you must acknowledge the despair and then you have to get beyond it. Taken from a radio interview given on BBC Radio 4's Open Book
Bright gem instinct with music, vocal spark.
But all art is sensual and poetry particularly so. It is directly, that is, of the senses, and since the senses do not exist without an object for their employment all art is necessarily objective. It doesn't declaim or explain, it presents.
Today, writers want to impress other writers.
The film drama is the opium of the people…down with bourgeois fairy-tale scenarios…long live life as it is!
TV is chewing gum for the eyes.
Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else.
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