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Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Teethgrinder

Ruth Richardson popped her head up with an opinion piece in the Herald, yesterday.
It's verging on unreadable.  And for me unreadable is quite a low.  I struggled through some sections of Ulysses, on my first reading of it (episode Three - Proteus was most baffling), but it made sense*.
Richardson's opinion-piece is rubbish.  I had to read it twice to make sure I had not missed anything.  Strings of cliches and a collection of disparate and discredited ideas without even an attempt at making connections, or writing something that flows.  Unless it's a cunning attempt to undermine the government, I'm surprised the Herald would publish such tripe.
I feel a bit weird, having suggested some equivalence between Joyce and Richardson.  Let me express the comparison like this:
If you do not understand James Joyce, it's probably a failing on your part.  However, if you do not understand Ruth Richardson, it's definitely a failing on her part.  If you think you understand Ruth Richardson, you are seriously deluded.

*For anyone who has tried to read Ulysses and given up, I recommend Frank Delaney's podcast.  It's available weekly (on Thursdays NZT), it manages the rare feat of making what appears complex quite understandable and Frank Delaney's accent is beautiful.

Therapy? - Nurse, 1992

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