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Title: To write thick books does not make you a good novelist
Review: Some American writers, dazzled by the novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries, seem to think that to make a great book you only need to fill hundreds of pages with endless, tedious descriptions and hollow dialogues. They do not seem to think that any especial literary ability (such as imagination or psychological insight) is required. DeLillo is a nice example of this kind of writers. Thus, whereas The Magic Mountain and War and Peace are literary wonders, Underworld is simply unbearable. The prose is beautiful and carefully worked, but it is absolutely not enough to make a good novel. My recommendation to writers: if you are not Thomas Mann or Leo Tolstoy, either stick to the 200 pages or find an interesting story to tell.
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