{"id":7952,"date":"2008-04-10T21:23:38","date_gmt":"2008-04-11T01:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=7952"},"modified":"2015-06-13T07:57:07","modified_gmt":"2015-06-13T11:57:07","slug":"on-john-mcgahern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=7952","title":{"rendered":"Dad On John McGahern: “There’s no fat in his books.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Me: “He didn’t write many books, did he?”
\nDad: “No. He spent all his time paring them down, cutting out everything that didn’t fit. There’s no fat in his books.”<\/p>\n

Finished The Pornographer<\/a>\"\"<\/i> today in a rowdy Irish pub, got my beer and a book … found myself in tears at the end. He’s sneaky, that McGahern. He doesn’t overdo it. He doesn’t overstate it. But when he makes his point, you are stripped bare of any defenses, and left naked, shivering, resentful, and yet grateful.<\/p>\n

So no. He didn’t write that many novels. He was too busy cutting the fat out of them. How many many writers I can think of who could learn from his example.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Dad.<\/p>\n

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