Week Four: The New Weird

     Seeing China Miéville's name under the recommended reading list for this week was quite a pleasant surprise. I first discovered the author about two years ago. I had just finished reading "The Book Thief" (one of my all time favorites) and was looking for something different this time, but equally rich in content. Somehow, I stumbled upon China's name. I spent a half an hour scrolling through his list of works and reading excerpts of each book one by one. I ended up choosing to read "Railsea".
    China Miéville's writing style caught my attention immediately. From the moment my eyes skimmed the first sentence, I was hooked. The way China describes settings and characters paints a realistic and detailed image before your eyes. I feel as though China could even cause self-proclaimed "unimaginative" readers to see beautiful visions of his stories. Another thing that I appreciate about China Miéville's works is the way he throws in little hints of style that most writers don't use, just to remind you that it's his book you're reading, such as the way he uses an ampersand instead of actually spelling out the word "and". Although this is a rather small and perhaps meaningless detail, it still contributes to the overall feel and style of Miéville's works.
     The book, "Railsea", was what inspired me to begin developing a unique and more descriptive writing style of my own. In fact, it was this single sentence that threw me into the world of descriptive writing: "He stared at little rock islands furred in huddled birds plumping their oily feathers & shuffling together for comfort & warmth". I don't know why, but for some reason, this is the sentence that made me think, "I want to write more beautifully". When asked what inspires me to write, I'll always answer with "the penguin sentence".
     I think this genre will slowly become more and more popular as the years go on. Through recent years, people have become obsessed with expressing themselves uniquely, whether that be through style of dress, visual art, music, or literature. In addition to this, people today tend to gravitate towards darker subjects rather than light, cheerful ones. The combination of these two things makes for a culture ready to embrace the concept of "The New Weird" and help it thrive.