Can someone explain what "no fat at all on it" means?
I am reading an introduction to one of ch. dickens' books. There is a sentence there: "as one gets to know the book, it seems as if there is no fat at all on it, no detail that doesn't resonate with the whole." Can someone kindly explain me what does the phrase "no fat on it" mean in this context?
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Can someone explain what "no fat at all on it" means?
I am reading an introduction to one of Charles Dickens' books. There is a sentence there: "as one gets to know the book, it seems as if there is no fat at all on it, no detail that doesn't resonate with the whole." Can someone kindly explain me what the phrase "no fat on it" means in this context?It seems to me that the language he uses is concise or lean and he does not say one more word than is needed. His book has 'no fat on it'; it has few adjectives and adverbs and only nouns and verbs. It is mininalist; less is more.
That does not really sound like Dickens to me - it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, ....
If you want to read a book with no fat on it, may I recommend 'Animal Farm'. Orwell usually has no fat although he has little or no humour too.
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Interesting, I thought Dickens added a lot since he was paid by monthly installment
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Thank you very much indeed, Dominic! I got that now :)
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Hey! It basically means that there are no excessive, unnecessary or unrelated details - as Dickens himself says directly after that phrase, "no detail that doesn't resonate with the whole"; ie there is nothing in the story that isn't related to the book/story as a whole. All details that have been included have been included for a reason and have some bearing on the book/story as a whole, rather than being unnecessary. Make better sense?
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