Not sure how to best describe it but I really like how Octavia writes. The first person appeals to me but it’s mainly that her sentences aren’t overly long or with multiple subsections. She doesn’t rely on uncommon words when general usage ones suffice. She doesn’t need to write 1,000 pages which feels like fluff in other books but is able to convey the plot in a shorter novel.
I came out of a tradition of public radio/podcast storytelling (think This American Life not rambling for an hour type podcasts) where we were taught to be descriptive but keep sentences and the overall story short and concise.
I’ve had a hard time finding similar books by googling because it keeps suggesting other science fiction/dystopian themed books when what I’m after is the style of her prose.
Thanks!
by a_mulher
2 Comments
Ernest Hemingway is famous for his short sentences and concise writing style.
*Katie Kitamura has really sparse, but controlled prose, that is similar to Butler’s to me. I recently read Audition by her and enjoyed it. It’s contemporary literary fiction.
*Lucia Berlin’s collection of short stories entitled “A Manual for Cleaning Women” also has similar vibes.
*Kazuo Ishiguro might also appeal to you, particularly “Never Let Me Go”. I say let yourself be surprised by that book if you’ve never heard anything about it.
*Jhumpa Lahiri is also know for sparse prose with emotional precision. She does a lot of literary realism works.
*Otessa Moshfegh. Minimalist sentences, emotion is blunt.