The passage below is quoted from a book. Could you please explain the boldfaced sentence for me. I don't get it at all.
"Certain current short story writers often
use techniques – particularly exposition and description – associated with the
essay. As exemplified in the work of Raymond Carver and Ann Beattie, the result
is a fiction that is founded on relentless exposition and that bulges with
detail … This uses of detail … seem old fashioned. ... The characters in such
stories are often flat – shallow and uncomplicated. The action consists of a
chronicle of every day life, and thus the work often becomes a report of
mundane experiences. This type of story does not, however, herald the death of
the death of the short story: it is merely a particular form of fiction currently
enjoying critical favor in part because few critics have seen beyond its
apparent virtue – the dazzling surface of its prose."
I've given out the whole important and relevant context.
What does the author mean by "enjoying critical favor", and "few critics have seen beyond its apparent virtue"? And what does "the dazzling surface of its prose" refer to?
Thank you so much for your time.