When Words Get in the Way

David Wroblewski, author of “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” was at Nicola’s Books last night. As he was discussing various threads that run through his book about dogs and language, at one point he cited the surveys that ask people which family member they’re closest to and how the dog consistently ranks at, or near, the top. He said our relationship with our dogs is so strong in spite of, or perhaps because of, our inability to use words.

This isn’t news in terms of dog training. Dogs are more fluent in our body language than we are – it’s the verbal commands that they need to learn (and we humans need to learn what our bodies are saying to them) – so the concept of a mute boy working dogs the way Edgar Sawtelle does in the book isn’t a far reach at all. But a writer talking, or writing, about words getting in the way of communication seems a bit ironic.

It’s not. Some of the most effective, powerful books are the ones where the writing seems to “disappear” and you can fully absorb the story. Or think about the mantra “show, don’t tell.” What is “telling” but using words that are nothing more than words, instead of “showing” with image-painting language.

A couple more examples of Words vs. Communication:

1) Politicians. Need I say more?

2) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4, the Emmy-nominated episode Hush where “The Gentleman” steal everyone’s voices, so they all have to communicate with gestures and expressions. You can’t find this episode online (at least not legally), so if you haven’t seen it, go get your hands on Season 4 now. It’s amazing.