B. R. Myers (1) (1963–)

B. R. Myers is a fantastically smart person and a very insightful writer on things going on both the Koreas. His book The Cleanest Race was a powerful read for me. Ergo, I was really excited to read the Juche Myth. Alas, this is not his better work. Self-edited and it shows; too much effort is spent on demonstrating his impressive vocabulary and not enough on building or demonstrating his argument. It feels like a specialist book for people in the Korean studies world, and especially as a retort to them. As far as the information goes, there is a lot of people who get introduced and keep track of, often with poor biographical or positional information to help you keep track of and figure out where they are in the scheme of things and how they matter. I did learn a lot about Juche ideology, and what it is and what B. R. Myers says it isn’t. For that fact alone, I don’t regret reading it because I learned a lot. But I also can’t recommend it unless you are deeply interested in the material.

The introduction to it is available at the author’s website here:
https://sthelepress.com/index.php/2020/08/10/north-koreas-juche-myth-introductio...
And I will freely say that the rest of the book is very much that. So if that doesn’t scare you away, by all means read ahead. But don’t expect it to change from that.… (mere)

I don't read much "Literary Fiction." I stopped about 10 years ago when I realized it was as much of a genre as any other genre of fiction. And just as there are people who do not enjoy thrillers or speculative fiction, I simply do not enjoy most modern literary fiction. The poetic language and focus on crafting sentences wasn't what I sought in my fiction. If I want that, I read poetry. If I want well-written stories that focus on narrative and character development, I tend to read classic novels.

BR Myers wrote this book for people like me, to let us know that we are not alone. It was originally published as an essay in the Atlantic, and expanded to book form when the essay received a lot of attention, good and bad. In it, he takes on 5 highly praised writers, and the literary establishment in general. From the introduction: "Give me a time-tested masterpiece or what critics patronizingly call a fun read, Sister Carrie or just plain Carrie. Give me anything, in fact, as long as it isn't the latest must-read novel, complete with a prize jury's seal of approval on the front and a clutch of precious raves on the back."

Through the next few chapters he then proceeds to explain why he thinks certain literary authors are not in fact very good writers and do not deserve the critical praise heaped upon them. His tone can be very snarky, and piles scorn upon the reviewers who praise these writers, but he does make some excellent points. (And, granted, with me he was preaching to the choir.)

From the conclusion, which summarizes his views succinctly: "...Oprah Winfrey told of calling Toni Morrison to say she had had to puzzle repeatedly over many of the latter's sentences. ...Morrison's reply was: 'That, my dear, is called reading.' Sorry, my dear Toni, but it's actually called bad writing."

If that line strikes a chord with you, or even makes you angry, then this is probably a book you should read, if for no other reason than to contend with Myers' ideas.… (mere)

This is still a spot-on criticism of the trend to praise books which are pretentious, over-written, and make little sense.
Author Myers picks five authors: Proulx, Auster, Cormac McCarthy, Delillo, and Guterson, and devotes a chapter to skewering the works of each one.
Myers uses extensive quotes from each book, and carefully analyzes each one as an example of execrable writing...and every quote he chooses has been praised by more than one literary critic as being illustrative of brilliant modern prose
This is a brief polemic, really a long essay, against the narrow herd mentality of the “literary elite.” I wish the book had been longer to allow for the inclusion of examples of outstanding writing. Also, I think his choice of Guterson was unfortunate since Guterson’s output has been limited. My feelings were a little hurt by his dismissal of White Oleander. And I was appalled to see Michael Dirda’s reaction...he refused to read it, since he disagreed with Myers’s proposition. Oh, come on, Mr. Dirda, you’re a better man than that: it’s a short piece. Read it and dissect it if you wish, but don’t stick your nose in the air...unless you truly are a snob who doesn’t care to defend his positions.… (mere)

I'm fascinated by North Korea. Unlike most of the other stuff I've read about the DPRK, this book attempts to paint a full picture of the Text -- Myer's term for the official story of Korean history, the Kims, and their views of South Korea, the US, and the rest of the world. Myer's is very direct: North Korea is not like Stalinist Russia, the former Soviet Eastern Bloc, or Nazi Germany. It's something very distinct that can only be understood by understanding what North Koreans believe about themselves. Myer's book is very well written and very easy to absorb. Fascinating stuff.… (mere)