I mean writers where the words disappear and the meaning and imagery is just beamed into your head. I used to think simple writing would do this best by not attracting attention to itself, but then I read McCarthy, whose writing is very idiosyncratic, but after a few pages it felt like I was just getting images and meanings beamed into me and the words no longer existed. I totally get his style now, and few writers come close to that effect. It’s just so smooth and effortless one you cross the barrier.
Also, somewhat unrelated because this is academic writing, but I felt the same reading Foucault. At first, his writing was extremely dense and convoluted to me, but after getting into it, the words just went away and made way for concepts that imo could not have been conveyed in any other way than the style he chose. It really felt like being linked to a unique perspective.
What are some examples you have?
Nabokov, Jack Vance, Tommy Wieringa, Aravind Adiga, Dave Eggers, Chekhov, Ursula LeGuinn
John Steinbeck for me
Robert Drewe. Check him out, of of Australia ‘hidden treasures’.
The second story/part of doppleganger by dasa drndic was like this for me. Similar to what you described, the style felt strange and distracting … until it wasn’t.
Margaret Atwood. She can build a picture so clearly I can see it.
McCarthy was the first writer I thought of when I saw the post title.
Same here. He was really good at writing about ideas that are difficult to write/talk about in such a way that it felt like he just slipped past all the obstacles and transported the ideas to my head.
Can I say the Harry Potter books? I mean, I don’t know how she did it, but the translation from the books to the screen kind of proves how absolutely spot on all of us were picturing that world. Arguably the school might be larger or darker or more mysterious in the movies, and in subsequent reads, I tried picturing the school as far more massive with more halls and windows and more of a cathedral appearance, and it made a lot of scenes a lot of fun to re-read — there’s also a few weird things were you’re like, “wait, how did the lake connect to the school again?”
but aside from a few silly things that make no sense (a brick wall separating the back of a magic inn to the whole magic world??? that serves no purpose other than a “reveal”), I feel like those books are 100% beamed right into my head.
A lot of young adult authors take this placement, whether or not people tally up the writing to ‘predictable’ or not the fact that the author knows what the reader wants and rewards that is a big factor why these books are so popular. A good example of this is Rick Riordan, he understands what the reader wants with the books as he’s writing them and every chapter feels like a reward to the reader for paying attention.
Sylvia Plath and Donna Tartt. Especially Plath’s writing for me, its like looking through a mirror.
It becomes less common the older i get but i think sabaa tahir was like that for me
All the good ones.
Not kidding, that’s basically my first metric for a good author.
If I can’t get into this state of mind then I’ll often put the book down.