In Red Flags, Juris Jurjevics has brilliantly accomplished a feat that is becoming a major characteristic of 21st century literature: the seamless combining of a genre form with the deep resonance of literary art. This book is thrilling to read for both its narrative drive and its insight into the human heart.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the blending of genre and literary art in contemporary literature.
Robert Olen Butler praises Juris Jurjevics's work, 'Red Flags', for its ability to merge traditional genre storytelling with profound literary depth. This reflects a modern literary trend where authors are not just focused on the structure of storytelling but also on the emotional and artistic dimensions, offering readers both an engaging narrative and meaningful insights into the complexities of human emotions.
In practice
During a book club discussion, you might quote this to highlight the artistic qualities of a recently read novel.
I have a deep-seated distrust and even contempt for people who are driven by ambition to conquer the world … those who cannot control themselves and produce vast amounts of crap that no one cares about. I find it unattractive. I like the Zen artists: they’d do some work, and then they’d stop for a while.
When you write for a living and you can't do anything else, you know that sooner or later that the deadline is going to come screaming down on you like a goddamn banshee. There's no avoiding it...So one day you just don't appear at the El Adobe bar anymore; you shut the door, paint the windows black, rent an electric typewriter and become the monster you always were - the writer.
The artist need not know very much, best of all let him work instinctively and paint as naturally as he breathes or walks.
Writing is the hardest work in the world. I have been a bricklayer and a truck driver, and I tell you – as if you haven't been told a million times already – that writing is harder. Lonelier. And nobler and more enriching.
The truth is, the difference between a studio photographer and a photojournalist is the same as the difference between a political cartoonist and an abstract painter; the only thing the two have in common is the blank page. The jobs entail different talents and different desires.
Beauty is a harmonious relation between something in our nature and the quality of the object which delights us.
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