A review by snowmaiden
The Art of Intimacy: The Space Between by Stacey D'Erasmo

3.0

When I first came across this book, I thought from the title it must be a self-help book. Then when I read the description, I decided it was best classified as a writing manual. But now that I've read it, I think it fits best to call it a meditation. D'Erasmo, a novelist, examines how a wide range of authors are able to render the intimacy between characters on the page. She would make a wonderful literary critic, as her description of each of her sources makes me want to read the book myself! I'm not exactly sure that I got any really useful tips on how to depict intimacy in my own writing, though. All in all, this was a nice read that introduced me to some new books, but if I had paid $12 for it, instead of getting it for free from a Goodreads giveaway, I might have been disappointed. (Especially because it's so very short-- only 123 5x7 pages with wide margins. It was really more like reading a longish journal article than a book.)