'Jarred into Being' is the title of a novel. It is a fast paced thriller, which is intended as an entertainment for readers who enjoy action books that have readers in suspense so that they cannot put the book down until the story is over.
The author of this novel is named as Pat Lawrence. However the novel is really the result of a combined effort. A husband and wife work together to produce various entertainments such as suspense novels and stage plays.
Entertainment is one of the main purposes of English literature. Great writers are entertainers and it is through entertainment that they instruct and reveal the truth about life and people. Although Shakespeare's imagination enable him to reveal deep truths about people and about life there are suggestion that he was also an astute businessman with commercial interests in the London entertainment industry and a country residence in Warwickshire. William Wordsworth and Charles Dickens were other great writers who were also keen business people.
In the nineteenth century William Inge commented that literature is half a trade and half an art. This may be an opinion that would strike a chord with the authors of this suspense novel. They make it their business to produce a book that will entertain, instruct to some extent, and sell well. The art aspect of literature is about truth and beauty that might spark from the words as they are read.
The central character is a girl named Eva. The choice of this name, which may allude to a famous seductive character named Eve who played with an apple, may attract feminist readers with major interests in the feminine point of view. Like many other women Eva finds herself a victim and displays great courage and capability in coping with her world. Such a theme will no doubt appeal to feminist readers.
Reviews of this novel do suggest that it has entertainment value. This can make it more difficult to achieve the artistic aims of literary merit though great works almost always achieve both entertainment and artistic qualities. Suggestion that this novel is a skilled piece of literary entertainment and online marketing strategies demonstrate some demonstrate some fine points about the state of the contemporary book industry.
In the past novels were written by hand under candle light. They were written in ink, on paper, with nibs that had to be dipped into bottles of ink. Mistakes had to be erased or crossed out. Arrows might have indicated to printers how blocks of text should be shifted about. Despite all these difficulties the great classics have hardly a word out of place. Metaphors and themes are sustained throughout so that a novel ends up as a unified whole with every word being like a brick in a great cathedral. Yet all this was accomplished under great difficulty.
A modern novel such as 'Jarred into Being' is produced under enormously improved conditions. There is no need to cross out, or blot, or thumb through pages of handwritten text to revise motifs, sustain metaphors or create coherence. The whole process of writing has been immeasurably facilitated by word processors. They cut and paste, find and replace specific words and correct errors at the touch of a button. Given such advantages it is little wonder that the modern reader is surrounded by a plethora of beautifully written books. Unfortunately he may not be able to find and read them all. That is where good marketing may come in.
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