Thursday, May 29, 2008

Interesting Review of "Writing Machines"

Hi Everyone,

I found an interesting review of Writing Machines this morning. What do you think? http://www.intelligentagent.com/archive/Vol4_No4_reviews_writingmachines_mancini.htm

Do you all think she effectively made her case? Or atleast began by asking the right questions?

2 comments:

mike's spot said...

I'm not sure if it's asking 'the right questions' but it points out a major character flaw in Hayles- and that is painful narcissism. Reading this lady talk about herself in the third person stroking her own ego was not really an enjoyable experience.

That being said- Hayles insistence on using painful text to further make her point did not, in my opinion, add to the text- it was at best, slightly entertaining, and at worst, gave me a headache from staring at poorly laid out pages.

Lance Strate said...

I think it would be more appropriate to refer to the third person account as a narrative strategy that may not have been effective, as opposed to a character flaw. The review is a bit harsh, and perhaps does not fully take into consideration that this book is more of a probe that an exhaustive scholarly review. But it is good to get a critical response, so thanks for posting it.