Phrases for Translating Ideas into Words_

The charm of the story lies in a realistic portrayal of the characters and a truthful description of...
This story is a delight to read, even though it is made of material which is so disgusting and depressing.
Whatever is sick, sad and ugly in modern urban life is depicted in the story; its rare moments of beauty too.

The author reveals the nature of his characters through (actions, details, dialogues, etc.)...
The author gives an account of...
The author conveys his emotions to the reader using ...
The author brings to the reader's notice ...
The author gives a comprehensive and vivid picture of...
The author remains concentrated on these problems throughout the story.
In this story the author voices dissatisfaction with ...
The author shows (presents) complex / complicated / simple / imaginary / realistic / (un)convincing / superficial / flat / round / well(badly) portrayed characters.
The author seems to be the spokesman of the spirit of time.
The author's aim is to concentrate the reader's attention on the inner world of his characters.
The author displays a mastery in rendering the subtleties and contradictions of life.
The author is focused on human feelings and relationships, actions and motives.
The author explores the complexity of human character/ smb's inner motives.
There is one trait always present in this author's books, which singles him out of commonplace writers.
The author unfolds a theme in which stupidity, hypocrisy and ambition play their sorry parts.
The author's attention is focused on ...
The author portrays /depicts a man in close cooperation with society.
In his story the author turns to the conflicts of contemporary life.

The reader can easily understand the author's own attitude towards his characters.
The reader grasps the idea that ...
... serves to convey to the reader the mood of the narrator / author.
It is ... that falls under the author's observation.
The author's strong point lies in a vivid description of the beliefs, customs, manners, costumes, language of the epoch plus the energy and movement which his story displays.
The author's sympathy lies with ...
The author's real central figure seems to be ...
The author's irony exposes the vices of this society: hypocrisy, money-worship, and moral degradation. That is why one can hardly find any positive character in the novel.
The author is known for a deep psychological analysis of his heroes and a very thoughtful attitude to the burning political and social problems of the day.
The author starts a new tradition of bringing the language of literature (in the author's speech, no less than in that of the personages) close to the language of real life. He does away with the elaborate syntax of the 19th century prose and cultivates somewhat abrupt sentences, true to the rhythm and the intonation of the spoken language and full of low colloquialisms and even slang.
The author's method of developing a story often involves a turn which takes the audience half by surprise, as it may have taken the dramatist himself.

There is not a character in the story that is not worth studying, nor a scene that is not life-like, not a reflection that has not a deep meaning.
The character of the heroine is drawn with admirable skill. She is full-blooded and many-sided: adventurous, gifted, with a keen sense of humour and deep understanding of people.
He is the only character worthy of the author's positive estimate.
His life is characteristic of/typical of/peculiar to...
She is an embodiment of beauty.
Money becomes the prime object of their worship and respect.
This character enjoys all the sympathy of the reader.

Though possessing some social problems, this story seems to have an air of being away from reality.
The story reveals the author's great knowledge of man's inner world. He penetrates into the subtlest windings of the human heart.
The author's style is remarkable for its powerful sweep, brilliant illustrations and deep psychological analysis. Everything he touches seems to reflect the feelings of the heroes, and his power in depicting their passions - hate, fear, revenge, remorse, love - is enormous.
Giving the author his due for brilliance of style and a pointed ridicule of many social vices, such as snobbishness, money-worship, pretence, self-interest, etc., we realize, however, his cynical attitude to mankind. It is quite obvious that when describing the corruption of modern society, he is not indignant but rather amused. His habitual attitude is that of expecting little or nothing of his fellow men. His ironical cynicism combined with a keen wit and power of observation affords him effective means of portraying reality without shrinking before its seamy side.
The author shares in his characters' attitude towards ...
... is given by the author with great force and skill.

Galsworthy's realism lies in his capacity for making his hero part and parcel of his surroundings and convincing the reader of his typicality: he is a fine artist in reproducing the individual workings of his characters' mind.
The foundation of Galsworthy's talent lies in a remarkable power of ironic insight combined with an extremely keen and faithful eye for all the phenomena on the surface of the life he observes.
The appeal of Jerome lies in his gentleness and irony, in his power of digression, his gift of capping his comic moments with a final extravagant act that outbids life altogether.
The atmosphere of gayety characteristic of the beginning is changed by sad humour towards the end.
The charm of this story lies in its interesting plot and exciting situation. At the same time it conveys deep thought, keen observation and sharpness of characterization. These very qualities assure the author of an outstanding place in the annals of literature and in the hearts of all who love good stories.
Many of the events, reactions and descriptions in the story are seen through the main character's eyes.
This description provides an essential clue to the character.

The compositional arrangement of the text (stylistic devices) help to bring the idea out (to create tense atmosphere, to show the real state of things).
The author resorts to high-flown phrases/expressions to show ...
The enumeration shows the author's striving for an exhaustive and fully detailed presentation of the phenomenon dealt with.
The choice of vocabulary and stylistic devices is admirable.
The following stylistic devices contribute to the expressiveness of the passage.
The author makes extensive use of ... to render the story more vivid, convincing, more real and emotional.
All the descriptive attributes used in the passage serve to convey to the reader ...
An additional humorous effect is produced by ...
The description of ...is contrasted to that of...