I think that Shurin’s book is a good example of the fact that nonfiction writing can still be creative. A lot of people (myself included sometimes) tend to associate nonfiction with dull textbooks or tedious instructional manuals, but nonfiction doesn’t have to be full of vague, abstract words or scientific terms. Shurin’s work illustrates the fact that nonfiction writing can be just as imaginative and as beautiful as fiction or poetry.
One passage that I really enjoyed occurs at the beginning of the book on page 18 when Shurin describes the flower garden he rescues from the July sun. Besides using vivid imagery and concrete details such as the names and colors of individual flowers and the scent of chocolate from the cocoa mulch, Shurin also adds depth to the passage with his use of personification, making the plants seem to actually perform for him and to respond to his care of them. I really enjoyed the passages that show Shurin’s connection with nature and give the reader a glimpse into that experience.
Though some of Shurin’s descriptive passages border on being a bit too flowery and though some of the stream-of-consciousness passages seem a bit disjointed, I enjoyed the overall poetic quality of Shurin’s book. One thing that I would like to take away from my reading of this book is the importance of using literary techniques in nonfiction. Even if I’m not writing a story or a poem, my writing will be more effective if I include literary devices such as metaphor, simile, imagery etc. Though some devices apply more to certain types of writing, Shurin’s book showed me that good writing in every genre shares some of the same techniques, inspiring me to be more conscious of adding literary qualities to my own nonfiction.
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