This book is a collection of essays and speeches by Orson Scott Card. Mostly having to do with how writing fiction fits into the context of his religious beliefs. Unlike many LDS fiction writers (at least those I've encountered), Card's books do not feel like sappy, watered down versions of life. They include plenty of immoral characters who do terrible things, bad stuff happening to good people, who wrest with awful dilemmas. Thus I found quite interesting his essay "The Problem of Evil in Fiction." Other titles in the collection include "The Book of Mormon- Artifact or Artifice?" "Science Fiction and the Mormon Religion," and "Art as an Act of Charity." I particularly appreciated the chapters on creativity and the art of storytelling. While I don't agree with everything Card says or argues for, A Storyteller in Zion gives a very clear picture of where this author is coming from, his attitudes and the motivations behind what he writes.Rating: 3/5 215 pages, 1993
I didn't know this book existed! Sounds pretty interesting. I often find myself disagreeing with Card too, but in some ways he's quite a fascinating man, and I'd like to read more about his ideas and his writing.
ReplyDeleteHuh. I didn't realize that Orson Scott Card was LDS. Sometimes when I do know something like that, though, I dissect the writing a little bit more. Not sure why.
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