David Zweig (Author of Swimming Inside the Sun)

David Zweig is now friends with Dan Zevin

David Zweig made a comment on Lauren's review of A Visit from the Goon Squad

"Great review. I appreciate the snow globe comment, and your reaction to the final chapter."

David Zweig gave

to:

A Visit from the Goon Squad
by Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

Egan writes with staggering skill. Goon Squad is a true ensemble cast; just when you think one character is breaking out as the lead the narrative shifts to someone else. And yet - here's the staggering skill part - every character, even the ones wit...moreEgan writes with staggering skill. Goon Squad is a true ensemble cast; just when you think one character is breaking out as the lead the narrative shifts to someone else. And yet - here's the staggering skill part - every character, even the ones with just a few pages devoted to their viewpoint, is fully fleshed out, three-dimensional, real. The mark of great fiction is when you, the reader, can empathize completely with every character in the book. It doesn't mean you like every character, but you understand them, and see the world through their eyes. That Egan is able to achieve this with so many characters, bouncing from one to the other, is amazing.

Because the book jumps around so much, not only from one character's viewpoint to the next, but also bouncing from one time period to another, things do feel disjointed after a while. It's not necessarily a mark against Egan, but more a limitation of this type of structure. For a novel to be "perfect" I want to feel completely, and always, immersed in the world of the story, and that's near impossible with this type of structure. With that said, what's so amazing about this novel is that within a page, and often with just a paragraph or even a sentence or two, I was immediately absorbed in whatever new world was the focus of that section.

The prose style is mainly clean, yet has just enough flourishes of beauty and originality to keep it from being plain. As many people have remarked, the Powerpoint thing in the middle was pretty brilliant. Although, I found the content of the Powerpoint to be a bit twee after a while. And the degree of self-awareness and sophistication also felt a bit inflated for a child (a problem I often have when children are lead characters in novels). Lastly, the ending of the book felt like it went off the rails a bit, as not everything completely made sense with the continuity or believability (though maybe I was just tired). I had a few other quibbles related to believability at different points here and there, but they were quickly overlooked bc everything else sparkled.(less)

David Zweig is currently reading:

One Square Inch of Silence by Gordon Hempton

One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Quest to Preserve Quiet
by Gordon Hempton

My rating:

David Zweig added:

The Ask
by Sam Lipsyte (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

David Zweig gave

to:

Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
by Matthew B. Crawford

read in November, 2009

My rating:

David Zweig made a comment on Michelle's review of Swimming Inside the Sun

"Dear MyFleshSingsOut, AKA
goodreads.com/joshingthyself AKA
joshingthyself on myspace,

It's hilarious and bizarre how much time you're spending detailing...more"

David Zweig liked Lisa Vegan's review of Swimming Inside the Sun:

" I read the galley of this book. The woman who works at the publishing company who sent me this book did so because she’d noticed that I have enjoyed Dave Eggers ‘s work (which she thought has some similarity to this author’s) and I did really love A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius... "
Read more of this review »

David Zweig made a comment on Jason Pettus's review of Swimming Inside the Sun

"Dear Jason,
Thank you for reading half of my novel, and for taking the time to review it. There are several points in your review that I'd like to addr...moreDear Jason,
Thank you for reading half of my novel, and for taking the time to review it. There are several points in your review that I'd like to address.

I do not take issue with your personal dislike of the book - you're obviously entitled to that; reading, and in particular, reading fiction, is a very subjective experience. (And in fact, I'd rather have someone absolutely hate the book than merely not enjoy it; it's fun knowing that the book got such a rise out of you.) What I do take issue with, however, are your personal opinions about how art or entertainment should work which you state as if they are truisms.

Your complaint that the protagonist doesn't learn "a single godd-mn lesson," that there wasn't a "journey" or "change" is misguided. First of all, the whole book is his journey figuring out what to do with his life after being confronted with failure and struggling with the sadness and uncertainties that many people face when confronted with a life-altering setback. Second, the character does change, though not in the obvious, time-worn way that perhaps you seek.

Your claim that "an artistic narrative-based project is ... supposed to give us a distilled look at a life's highlights," is embarrassingly ignorant and myopic. I won't bother listing the uncountable number of classic works of fiction, and films, and other works of art that offer exactly the opposite of this "rule." True, action is generally the primary engine of stories, but unlike you, many people do "learn something about ourselves and the world around us" by seeing the beauty and complexity of the details and banalities of life. Personally, more often than not, I find the "distilled look at a life's highlights" that most films and novels offer, and that you prize, to be artificial and distancing. Not to say I don't enjoy a good heist flick, but it's the window into the details of someone else's experience that moves me. Not everyone wants plot-driven fiction. And, as you noted, that's one of the themes I explored in the novel. That you are unable to say, "this isn't for me," and instead say "it's stupid and pointless," only shows your limited ability to see beyond your own viewpoint.

Lastly, to say that I don't respect my audience is just silly. To infer that I don't care whether my audience is entertained is equally as ridiculous. It's because I respect my audience that I sought to do more than simply entertain, but rather to entertain and simultaneously explore why we seek entertainment so much in the first place. And - surprise - that type of content is not always best conveyed through plot twists. To me that's part of the magic of what fiction can offer.

David Zweig

P.S. It's just plain wrong - grammatically and ethically - to put quotes around text that is your own and not taken from a book you are reviewing.(less)"

David Zweig gave

to:

What is the What
by Dave Eggers

My rating:

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	Swimming Inside the Sun 3.06 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2009	My rating:
	China's Brain Drain to Uni Sta 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1996	My rating:

David Zweig is now friends with Dan Zevin
Oct 19, 2011 10:53am
David Zweig made a comment on Lauren's review of A Visit from the Goon Squad "Great review. I appreciate the snow globe comment, and your reaction to the final chapter."
Aug 05, 2010 05:58pm · see review
David Zweig gave to: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Egan writes with staggering skill. Goon Squad is a true ensemble cast; just when you think one character is breaking out as the lead the narrative shifts to someone else. And yet - here's the staggering skill part - every character, even the ones wit...more
Aug 04, 2010 08:10am · see review
David Zweig is currently reading: One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Quest to Preserve Quiet by Gordon Hempton	My rating:
May 05, 2010 07:16pm
David Zweig added: The Ask by Sam Lipsyte (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
May 05, 2010 07:01pm
David Zweig gave to: Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford read in November, 2009	My rating:
Nov 22, 2009 09:36am
David Zweig made a comment on Michelle's review of Swimming Inside the Sun "Dear MyFleshSingsOut, AKA goodreads.com/joshingthyself AKA joshingthyself on myspace, It's hilarious and bizarre how much time you're spending detailing...more"
Sep 30, 2009 04:51am · see review
David Zweig liked Lisa Vegan's review of Swimming Inside the Sun: " I read the galley of this book. The woman who works at the publishing company who sent me this book did so because she’d noticed that I have enjoyed Dave Eggers ‘s work (which she thought has some similarity to this author’s) and I did really love A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius... " Read more of this review »
Sep 25, 2009 12:23pm · see review
David Zweig made a comment on Jason Pettus's review of Swimming Inside the Sun "Dear Jason, Thank you for reading half of my novel, and for taking the time to review it. There are several points in your review that I'd like to addr...more"
Sep 25, 2009 11:49am · see review
David Zweig gave to: What is the What by Dave Eggers	My rating:
Aug 15, 2009 02:30pm

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combine editions
Books by David Zweig

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