The Writers' Lounge

Hmmm, this is a very good topic! I think, quite possibly, 'impact' is the kind of neutral lingua franca to go for here, though I definitely agree loaded terms like 'beautiful' and 'ugly' carry exactly the kind of weight that readers know about - and it's that gut-deep knowing in response to words that we're dealing with, isn't it?

Personally, I happily turn a blind eye to a prose style that isn't to my taste if I'm interested enough in the plot or form. Equally, I enjoy many different styles of prose.

In that excerpt, fundamentally I agree with the Winterson persona. Style matters absolutely. However, the author's style shouldn't necessarily be unchanging. To my mind, the author has to believe enough in what s/he is saying to express it with integrity... but the ultimate duty is to the story - to getting that story told, and embraced by the reader. Whether that's achieved through geniality or rigorous intellectual exercise, however... both are just as valid.

A book this makes me think of is Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, which a lot of people intensely dislike. I love it, despite its graunching bits and self-indulgent flaws. T.S. Eliot, in his introduction, said that "only sensibilities trained on poetry can wholly appreciate it." and I think that's oddly true of much prose.

Whether it's sparseness and balanced clarity or rich, full descriptiveness, as readers we want the author's style to sing to us... I suspect there may be some kind of aural primal impulse thingy here.