Reflecting On The World

“A novel is a mirror walking along a main road.” – Stendhal

Born in 1783, Marie-Henri Beyle – who used the pseudonym Stendhal – is one of the most original and complex French writers of the first half of the 19th century, chiefly known for his works of fiction.  His finest novel is the 1830 work The Red and the Black from which the above quote comes.

A century and a half later, Tim O’Brien, born in 1946, said that he thought about writers like Stendhal and what they said about creating good fiction, and that helped guide him in  creating such acclaimed works as Going After Cacciato and The Things They Carrie.   

 Reflecting on those writings and more, O’Brien noted:

“A good piece of fiction, in my view, does not offer solutions. Good stories deal with our moral struggles, our uncertainties, our dreams, our blunders, our contradictions, our endless quest for understanding. Good stories do not resolve the mysteries of the human spirit but rather describe and expand up on those mysteries.” 

  

O’Brien                                                       Stendhal

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