In her newest collection of essays A Horse at Night: On Writing, Amina Cain writes: “When I start writing a new story, I often begin with setting. Before plot, before dialogue, before anything else, I begin to see where a story will take place, and then I hear the narrative voice, which means that character is not far behind.” Like Cain, I must describe the setting of the scene in my prose before arriving at the narrative. I have set the scene of me writing this review. Or, perhaps, it is more accurate to say I’ve set the scene of me reading this book.
