A review by edward_evjen
Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer by Peter Turchi
2.0
Started off great and devolved into paranoid obsession. The metaphor of a novel being like a map is profound. "To ask for a map is to say, 'Tell me a story.'" The first essay is great, and rest are artsy-fartsy bores with dashes of moralism to spoil the mix. Two moments stand out as annoying. He criticizes video games flippantly. This reeks of moralism and is not the scope of the book. I read fiction to find out what is. I don't care for emotions.* He also promotes scientism by criticizing the self-searching maps of medieval scholars. This not only is moralist, but undermines the best lesson this book has to offer. The lesson is, "There is no objective map of the world." and yet he charts medieval psychologists in the tropic of idiocy.
By this time in the book, the prose has devolved into fluff. It is a obsessed journal trying to find meaning in all overlaps between novels and maps but it doesn't mean anything to the audience because some areas of scholarship are just useless information. An analogy being, why memorize Magic The Gathering cards if you don't play the game?
I was introduced to a quote I like in this book from the Odyssey, Circe says, "once youre crew has rowed you past the Sirens, a choice of route is yours." Being familiar with Will Weston's teaching method, this maps on perfectly. I also liked the inclusion of orientation as deriving from the orient. (finding heaven "true north" in the horizon of sunrises.)
* Excepting in the case of interaction, and self understanding. Everything in it's place.
By this time in the book, the prose has devolved into fluff. It is a obsessed journal trying to find meaning in all overlaps between novels and maps but it doesn't mean anything to the audience because some areas of scholarship are just useless information. An analogy being, why memorize Magic The Gathering cards if you don't play the game?
I was introduced to a quote I like in this book from the Odyssey, Circe says, "once youre crew has rowed you past the Sirens, a choice of route is yours." Being familiar with Will Weston's teaching method, this maps on perfectly. I also liked the inclusion of orientation as deriving from the orient. (finding heaven "true north" in the horizon of sunrises.)
* Excepting in the case of interaction, and self understanding. Everything in it's place.