The Ticking is the Bomb, written by Nick Flynn, is a very unique novel. It is easy to identify a novel written by Nick Flynn, as his style is composed of many aspects that are considered unorthodox in the field of writing. Examples of this within the Ticking is the Bomb novel include the lowercase chapters, the completely unique thoughts for each chapter, and his overall vagueness. Overall, the novel is a difficult one to follow thus far, as each chapter is absurdly short, but each chapter is totally unrelated to each other. The novel is far from boring, but I feel as if I just receive small snippets of information in each chapter. It is this style that holds my attention, as I feel the need to keep reading to hopefully eventually find out the exact details of each aspect of Nick’s life. Nick is able to confuse the reader enough by using poetic language, disguising what he actually means, but while still masterfully conveying a message in a very short, concise manner. I have become completely invested to see the direction of this book, and I am excited to hear the upcoming short snippets. The story is one that the reader has to let “come at them” per say, as if you demand answers, you will only become more and more frustrated. Sit back, enjoy the story, and let the information come at you, and have faith that Nick will unfold all the information when he deems it necessary.
The poetic style evident from Nick Flynn is most clearly outlined by the Introduction to Documentary. The text expresses how many “images must be compiled” in order in order to express or present a clear idea. This could not better outline Nick Flynn’s writing style, as he incorporates countless images and modes to present his ideas.
In summation, the text is one that can easily frustrate the reader if the writing style is not understood or appreciated, but the novel is truly a great work. His frequent jumping around of ideas is a unique style that he brings to his text, and will hopefully all connect at the end to one large idea. Going forward, I plan to incorporate this style by means of not worrying if I have many ideas, I can incorporate them into my story as long as I am able to connect all my ideas at the end. Furthermore, I find this style to fit in well with today’s culture, as many young individuals are showing reduced attention spans, not reading full news articles, needing constant stimulation to stay on task. Nick is able to incorporate this style into his writing, and being that it matches what a large population of individuals now needs to stay focused, I believe it is something I should attempt to incorporate into my writing, depending on my intended audience.
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