Descriptive Writing

When our guest speaker Constance Hale was reading out the passage (that many of us didn't quite like), I thought of a book I read a few years ago. It's by Merlinda Bobis from the Philippines. I remember struggling with the book because it was TOO descriptive. I like descriptive writing in general but felt hers was over the top.

I am going to share a passage here, from her book "Banana Heart Summer":

Once upon a time, the bittermelon was sweet and not frowning. It was a shiny, smooth green of the palest hue, with no creases at all. It was a fruit, not a vegetable. It was served for dessert. It was sweeter than mangoes but less fleshy, and it was lean with character; it did not give in too easily to the teeth. People ate it as they would eat corn, gnawing around and around the elongated green flesh, crunchy and sugary sweet, till it was naked, white and vulnerable-looking; a collection of teeth marks. Thus exposed, it became ashamed of itself. Time and again, it worried that its underbelly, with such a savage imprint, would be seen by human eyes and judged. So it began to flinch each time it came in contact with teeth, any stripping teeth for that matter. And each time it flinched, its smooth skin tightened, creased a bit, like a worried forehead. Then each time it worried, its sweetness diminished and an acrid taste crept in its place. With this shifting flavor came a change in color: it slowly darkened. By the time it turned a deep frowning jade, it was struck out of the dessert list. It had become a bitter vegetable, fallen out of favor with most palates, pushed to the culinary fringe.

It's well crafted, no doubt. But I felt it's not for light reading; I had to really focus on the words and process them to fully understand the story.