A Bad Author Can Take

We All Had To Pay, But Not For The Crimes We Were Accused Of. There Were Other Scores To Settle.

A Good Novel Is One That Shows The Complexity Of Individuals, And Creates Enough Space For All These Characters To Have A Voice; In This Way A Novel Is Called Democratic - Not That It Advocates Democracy But That By Nature It Is So. Empathy Lies At The Heart Of Gatsby, Like So Many Other Great Novels - The Biggest Sin Is To Be Blind To Others' Problems And Pains. Not Seeing Them Means Denying Their Existence.

Visa For Avalon Is A Testament To The Power Of Fiction. It Illuminates The Truth At The Heart Of What Is Commonly Called Reality. This Account Of Lives Transformed And Ruined By The Triumph Of A Totalitarian Rule Is A Timely Reminder Of How Moral And Intellectual Laziness And Apathy Can Pave The Road To The Reign Of Terror Brought On By Such A System.

Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Belittle A Work Of Fiction By Trying To Turn It Into A Carbon Copy Of Real Life; What We Search For In Fiction Is Not So Much Reality But The Epiphany Of Truth.

I Could Have Told Him To Learn From Gatsby. From The Lonely, Isolated Gatsby, Who Also Tried To Retrieve His Past And Give Flash And Blood To A Fancy, A Dream That Was Never Meant To Be More Than A Dream.