时间的检验 (2/2)

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d。 winners will be announced next week。 it contains fourteen new pieces on literature， politics and storytelling。 it"s unlikely a more thoughtful volume of critical prose will appear this year。

    the theme of the first section is literary matters， and gass warms to the subject with an authoritative essay on the differences between story and fiction。 while the exercise sounds a little abstruse， it gets to the heart of what is art and what is entertainment。 stories are a palliative， gass says， while fictions are "complicated， often they are nearly as long as life itself。"

    gass is an unapologetic snob when it comes to the arts， and wields this attitude in ways both playful and serious。 in the book"s title manifesto， he decries our appetite for easy amusement and gluttonous pleasures。 what does it matter， he jests， if we watch football， drink beer and wolf down ice cream instead of reading joyce？ it matters， he replies， because none of these activities immerses us in the imagination。 high art， he argues， celebrates the intricacies of the mind。 low art abases them。

    "the esthetic aim of any fiction is the creation of a verbal world，" gass argued in "fiction and the figures of life" (1970)， his first collection of essays。 th肉ghout "tests of time，" he applies this test to works of fiction。 by his yardstick， umberto eco and peter handke pass the test of time; cozy domestic realists do not。

    as a critic， gass holds himself up to this standard as well。 while some critics describe a book， he peels it like an orange and sucks its juice。 his prose is lavish and fatty， rich with digressions and propelled by whimsical turns of phrase。 how many critics would tell us "[w]e are in cahoots with art，" bemoan the rise of a "mute inglorious scanhappy reader，" or possess the dexterity to wrap a memory of making bombs into an essay on reading？

    in the book"s second section， gass delves into politics with characteristic zeal and uncharacteristic topicality。 several of these essays touch on the threat that fundamentalism -- islamic， christian， or of any kind-- presents to artists。 'the fatwa，' he writes， referring to ayatollah khamenei"s death threat against salman rushdie， 'was pronounced against us all，' gass asserts。 'it commanded the murder of a mouth， yet issued from the mouth of a murderer。'

    although some pieces in this and the book"s final section repeat themselves， that flaw is forgivable here。 one does not read these essays the way one does a newspaper; rather， one immerses in them to see a mind at work， thinking deeply。 sadly， although the publishing industry is putting out more books than ever， this is a rare pleasure， indeed。