“You hear, on the slight breeze, the tunt tunt, tunt tunt before you see the boat.”
'Cove' is about a man, on a kayak, who is struck by lightning. Throughout the book, Jones doesn't waste a single word. It's a masterclass in language, and demonstrates the beauty of efficient prose.
Many writers are addicted to complication. Some people think that a complex sentence is the pinnacle of language, and fasten clauses together into fleshy masses of polysyllabic words. As readers, we're encouraged to marvel at ornamental prose. 'Simple' is seen as a pejorative term.
However, 'Cove' offers an alternative. Jones has a distinctive voice. He always uses sparse and desolate language, and never uses five words when a single one will do. To begin with, this style feels shallow, as though something is missing. But that feeling goes away. The further you get into the book, the more enthralled you feel by its mounting depths. As though wading into the ocean.
The story becomes heavier with every turn of a page. By the end, the words feel charged with power. Ready to release, like the air before a storm.
Grammar is loose. The story switches between voices, from "you" to "he" and back again.
Nothing really happens. This is a simple story, told through simple language, and yet somehow it resonates. Anyone hoping to clean up their writing should look to Jones as an example. He treats his writing like a fish - the guts and the bones are discarded, and only the fillet remains.
Many writers are addicted to complication. Some people think that a complex sentence is the pinnacle of language, and fasten clauses together into fleshy masses of polysyllabic words. As readers, we're encouraged to marvel at ornamental prose. 'Simple' is seen as a pejorative term.
However, 'Cove' offers an alternative. Jones has a distinctive voice. He always uses sparse and desolate language, and never uses five words when a single one will do. To begin with, this style feels shallow, as though something is missing. But that feeling goes away. The further you get into the book, the more enthralled you feel by its mounting depths. As though wading into the ocean.
The story becomes heavier with every turn of a page. By the end, the words feel charged with power. Ready to release, like the air before a storm.
Grammar is loose. The story switches between voices, from "you" to "he" and back again.
Nothing really happens. This is a simple story, told through simple language, and yet somehow it resonates. Anyone hoping to clean up their writing should look to Jones as an example. He treats his writing like a fish - the guts and the bones are discarded, and only the fillet remains.
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