The math in literature

Math and literature don't mix. Or so we thought in high school. Or in college. Or five minutes ago. Ben Blatt proves differently in Nabokov's Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal about the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing.

Now that most books have been digitalized it has become a fairly easy process to study word usage over the centuries. This is how lexicographers now determine when individual words first appeared in print. Blatt applies the same techniques to literature and comes up with a number of fascinating discoveries.

Adverbs: The novels generally considered to rank among the best tend to have fewer adverbs than lesser books.

Exclamation points: James Joyce, often considered one of the best novelists, used lots of exclamation points. Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, also highly regarded, used very few.

Suddenly: Elmore Leonard said writers should never use the word suddenly. He didn't, at least after he included that as one of his rules of writing. Early in his career, however, he used that word frequently.

Cliches: Some writers employ numerous clichés in their work (James Patterson, for example) and others use few (Jane Austen), but all writers have their favorites. Tom Clancy: "by a whisker." Faulkner: "sooner or later." Donna Tartt: "too good to be true." Patterson: "believe it or not." Austen: "with all my heart."

As for Vladimir Nabokov and the color mauve, it seems that the author of Lolita tended to think and write in color, and of the many colors represented in his work, mauve was his favorite. Ray Bradbury, on the other hand, was inspired by the spice rack and by tastes in general. Words like spearmint, nutmeg, lemon, onion and vanilla show up frequently in his stories. But his favorite flavor was cinnamon.

Often a reader's response to Blatt's findings will be an insolent "so what?" He can make a big deal about very little. Still this is an informative book that reveals how each writer's style is his own, right down to individual word choices and even punctuation choices. If you are a writer thinking about writing a new series of books using a pseudonym, forget about it. Ben Blatt, or someone like him, will track you down.

It's all in the numbers.