“If the novel is like an intricate Renaissance
painting, the short story is an impressionist painting. It should be an
explosion of truth. Its strength lies in what it leaves out just as much as
what it puts in, if not more. It is concerned with the total exclusion of
meaninglessness. Life, on the other hand, is meaningless most of the time. The
novel imitates life, where the short story is bony, and cannot wander. It is
essential art.” —Irish short-story master William Trevor (1928-2016),
interviewed by Mira Stout for “William Trevor, The Art of Fiction No. 108,” The
Paris Review (Spring 1989)Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Quote of the Day (William Trevor, on the Short Story as ‘An Explosion of Truth’)
“If the novel is like an intricate Renaissance
painting, the short story is an impressionist painting. It should be an
explosion of truth. Its strength lies in what it leaves out just as much as
what it puts in, if not more. It is concerned with the total exclusion of
meaninglessness. Life, on the other hand, is meaningless most of the time. The
novel imitates life, where the short story is bony, and cannot wander. It is
essential art.” —Irish short-story master William Trevor (1928-2016),
interviewed by Mira Stout for “William Trevor, The Art of Fiction No. 108,” The
Paris Review (Spring 1989)
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