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I have no interest in reading Marisha Passl's debut novel, but after reading the Times' scathing review I found myself reading two more today while travelling into Newcastle.
If I remember rightly, the Times' said the book thinks it is more clever than it actually is.
Writer's Forum said that it was overwritten and contained too much "hoopdedoddle" as well as "tedious" and the references slowed the narrative.
The Metro newspaper made some interesting observations on Pessl's novel calling it "stylistic" and "overloaded with pop culture". What interested me was the assertion that "the Mcsweeney generation fails to love their characters . . . another highly stylised book that's keen to wear it's smarts on its sleeve . . . fails to recognise that literature fails to engage the heart as well as the brain".
If the Metro is correct, do we have a generation of slick books/authors who place content over heart?. In which case what does the future hold for literature and publishing?.
What/who are manga and the Mcsweeney generation?
I might as well declare my ignorance instead of constantly showing off, but why must literature be so miserable, and plainly horrid?
Bring on Jolly Jilly, Benign Joanna and Cosy Maeve.
Hi Patty. The Mcsweeney reference leaves me scratching my head too.
Manga is a particular type of 2-D (drawn) cartoon that originates from Japan. However, whilst it is cartoon-like in appearance, it is almost exclusively very 'adult' in content. Manga has a strong tendency towards extremely erotic storylines, often featuring young gay men or 'school girl' archetypes. Storylines also frequently feature mythical semi-humans (angels, vampires and so on).
Anime is the related 3-D (animated) version of manga, and there are also some manga films made with real actors - the Japanese film 'Battle Royale' is a good example.
As manga and anime are a style of drawing / animation, there are children's storylines too. The recent Oscar-winning animated film 'Spirited Away' is anime-style, as is the adaptation of Dianne Wynne-Jones's 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
Manga is fairly new (or new to the west at least) and is a growing genre that seems very popular among young people in their teens and twenties. My teenage daughter and her friends are all avid fans - hence my knowledge of it!
My American nephews used to be - maybe still are! - very keen on Anime. Luckily our daughters have always preferred the Simpsons, South Park, etc. Much easier to understand!
I just think it shows that fiction these days (esp. literary fiction) has become too pretentious, too concerned with inner messages and symbolism, and not concerned enough with telling a good story. Recent cases in point: White Teeth, How to Look Good, Ian McEwan's entire back catalogue. I'm not saying these books are bad, but on a personal level, I'm tired of "intellectual" books and want something with a decent story...
Thanks for the clarification. I belong to the group of readers who prefer rational stories about rational people, as written by the three authors mentioned above.
I'm going to add Calamity Physics to two other genres I don't entirely understand: Magic Realism and Historiographic Metafiction - plus the offside rule in football!!
Comments
If I remember rightly, the Times' said the book thinks it is more clever than it actually is.
Writer's Forum said that it was overwritten and contained too much "hoopdedoddle" as well as "tedious" and the references slowed the narrative.
The Metro newspaper made some interesting observations on Pessl's novel calling it "stylistic" and "overloaded with pop culture". What interested me was the assertion that "the Mcsweeney generation fails to love their characters . . . another highly stylised book that's keen to wear it's smarts on its sleeve . . . fails to recognise that literature fails to engage the heart as well as the brain".
If the Metro is correct, do we have a generation of slick books/authors who place content over heart?. In which case what does the future hold for literature and publishing?.
What do the Talkbacker's think?.
I might as well declare my ignorance instead of constantly showing off, but why must literature be so miserable, and plainly horrid?
Bring on Jolly Jilly, Benign Joanna and Cosy Maeve.
Manga is a particular type of 2-D (drawn) cartoon that originates from Japan. However, whilst it is cartoon-like in appearance, it is almost exclusively very 'adult' in content. Manga has a strong tendency towards extremely erotic storylines, often featuring young gay men or 'school girl' archetypes. Storylines also frequently feature mythical semi-humans (angels, vampires and so on).
Anime is the related 3-D (animated) version of manga, and there are also some manga films made with real actors - the Japanese film 'Battle Royale' is a good example.
As manga and anime are a style of drawing / animation, there are children's storylines too. The recent Oscar-winning animated film 'Spirited Away' is anime-style, as is the adaptation of Dianne Wynne-Jones's 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
Manga is fairly new (or new to the west at least) and is a growing genre that seems very popular among young people in their teens and twenties. My teenage daughter and her friends are all avid fans - hence my knowledge of it!