This was the first time I’d read, or even thought about writing in, collage. It reminded me of a book of quotes, but then I read “355 – I hate quotations”, which I found funny
He gave a lot of clues about a hidden narrative in this extract, for example:
“323 – I have a narrative, but you will be put to it to find it”
I guessed that all the segments that began with a dash might go together to form a paragraph, but they are essentially just more abstract quotes:
- 338 — the shapely swirl of energy holding shattered fragments in place, but only just.
- 344 — plunged into a world of complete happiness in which every triviality becomes imbued with significance.
- 345 — the singular obsessions endlessly revised.
- 351 — the transformation, through framing of outtakes into totems.
All in all, I think Shields is very cynical about conventional stories and narratives but I do think he makes a lot of good points, especially about narratives not reflecting real life.
Shields, David. Reality Hunger: A Manifesto. New York: Vintage, 2011. Print.
