Reality Hunger

While I find the idea and the conceit of Reality Hunger interesting, it failed to deliver on its promise. It is far too shallow and spends too much time expounding on the idea that all true art is built upon the work that came before . Anyone who would be a candidate to read this book would know that already. The second half is more compelling, but ultimately, I'm not convinced that Fiction is dead and that we crave reality. The discussions about the areas where fiction and non-fiction collide (collage, the lyrical essay, and memoir) was interesting, and I agree that these are currently the areas where a lot of the innovation is happening. But in the end, I don't think Shields made the case for the end of fiction.

What is fiction and what is nonfiction? The boundary line is no longer clear. Shields argues that modern novels are a form that does not satisfy a world increasingly alienated from reality, using bits and pieces of others' writings to make his point.

A book worth reading if just for the cleverness of its form.