'It Shows Unmistakably What You Are'

Too often style is judged filigree applied after the house is built. It’s cosmetic, inessential to the building’s structural integrity. Can a poor or indifferent stylist be judged a good or great writer? An obvious test-case is Theodore Dreiser. His Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy are powerful stories clumsily told. I can’t imagine rereading either novel but scenes stick with me after…