On Tuesday, Stewart O'Nan, who is a novelist, came to the Wexner Center. He read from a couple of his books, including Snow Angels, Songs for the Missing, and a response he wrote to the articles published every Sunday in his hometown of teenagers who had died in car crashes. He has very beautiful and poetic language, which is something I appreciate in small doses, but I often find reading an entire book in this manner is difficult. He also writes on darker subejects, as someone is shot in Snow Angels and a girl is potentially kidnapped in Songs for the Missing.
He said in his question and answer section that he likes to write books about impossible situations. Once he has created this impossible situation, he then explores how a character can possibly survive in this situation. He talked about one of his books about a man who was the sheriff, priest and undertaker of a small town. When a plauge of sorts hits the village, he finds himself in an impossible situation because, in order to help people, he has to do some bad thigns. So the question becomes, is it better to help people in the wrong way, or do the right thing and let people suffer?
-Sarah Barringer
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I also attended Stuart O'Nan's reading at Wexner Center. It was for my Creative Non-Fiction Writing class. I had never heard of O'Nan before, but after his reading, I was absolutely intrigued. He wrote a book entirely in second person, and wrote it well, which is rare in the literary world. O'Nan was a pretty likable fellow, his prose was flowing and beautiful, and he gave really great tips for future writings.
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