(no subject)
We made a family trip to the main library this weekend. I wanted to take the kids to the park, but it was hot and humid and Chris suggested the library instead. It did end up to be a good idea, as this may just be the quietest weekend I have experienced, with the kids here, in 10 years.
Lorelei got her own library card, and ten books, all of which she's finished already. Cat got some chapter books and books on horses. Geoff got (what else?) comic books. I found an author who had written several sequels to "Pride and Prejudice", so I got Autin's original just to reread it and the first sequel and two fictional books about the man who built the Taj Mahal and the woman he built it for, and Chris got some fantasy, D&D kind of books 'cause he likes that kind of thing.
I fully suspected this sequel writer to be bad...my experience of "Scarlett" as a follow-up to "Gone With The Wind" has told me that generally, the people with the least ability to mimic someone elses' style in order to believably carry-off writing a sequel are the ones who actually end up attempting it. The book is called "Mr. Darcy's Daughters", and especially having spent two delightful days reading "Pride and Prejudice" before launching into this, it's incredibly disappointing. The writing style is weak and unexpressive. The characters are flimsy and contrived, and the author hasn't even the gonads to take on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth...she sends them to Constantinople, for a year, leaving seven kids behind. Do they leave the children with Aunt Jane Bingley? No. Because then she'd have to write dialog for a well defined character. She leaves them with Colonel Fitzwilliam who, like the rest of the characters, is now rich beyond imagining and who throws money around like it was toilet paper. The author tries to imitate Austin's concern for social propriety and careful attention to clothing, but pays no attention to the subtletly of feeling, expression and observation in an Austin book, and comes off closer to a badly written romance novel about the South before the civil war.
The whole thing is repetitive and insipid. I'll finish this book because I have it, haven't read a book that wasn't for school in I don't know how long, and am enjoying the serenity of spending my day reading and reading and reading. But I'll not be getting the next two books when we return to the library.
I just can't understand it. If I was going to try to pass a book off as an homage to a classic author, I would be beside myself the entire time I was writing it to make it as true to the original style and characters as possible. I'd research the times I was writing about, read other books written then, study the styles, and basically immerse myself as much as is physically possibly in authentic pieces of it so my story would be respectful of and faithful to the original. The last thing I'd want is a cheap, flimsy rip-off, dishonoring the original author and my own abilities as well. I can't imagine why the author of this book didn't find that important, or why in God's name the publisher didn't.
Yeah, I expect a lot from my books. It's the same reason I don't see movies based on books - for instance, I've still not seen "Memoirs of a Geisha", and probably won't. "Pay it Forward" ruined movies based on books for me....they totally trashed important parts of the book. And it was such a good book, and there was so no reason to change them. I just get too disappointed when people mess with a good thing.
And that's been my entire Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone out there is enjoying theirs!!
Love y'all.
Lorelei got her own library card, and ten books, all of which she's finished already. Cat got some chapter books and books on horses. Geoff got (what else?) comic books. I found an author who had written several sequels to "Pride and Prejudice", so I got Autin's original just to reread it and the first sequel and two fictional books about the man who built the Taj Mahal and the woman he built it for, and Chris got some fantasy, D&D kind of books 'cause he likes that kind of thing.
I fully suspected this sequel writer to be bad...my experience of "Scarlett" as a follow-up to "Gone With The Wind" has told me that generally, the people with the least ability to mimic someone elses' style in order to believably carry-off writing a sequel are the ones who actually end up attempting it. The book is called "Mr. Darcy's Daughters", and especially having spent two delightful days reading "Pride and Prejudice" before launching into this, it's incredibly disappointing. The writing style is weak and unexpressive. The characters are flimsy and contrived, and the author hasn't even the gonads to take on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth...she sends them to Constantinople, for a year, leaving seven kids behind. Do they leave the children with Aunt Jane Bingley? No. Because then she'd have to write dialog for a well defined character. She leaves them with Colonel Fitzwilliam who, like the rest of the characters, is now rich beyond imagining and who throws money around like it was toilet paper. The author tries to imitate Austin's concern for social propriety and careful attention to clothing, but pays no attention to the subtletly of feeling, expression and observation in an Austin book, and comes off closer to a badly written romance novel about the South before the civil war.
The whole thing is repetitive and insipid. I'll finish this book because I have it, haven't read a book that wasn't for school in I don't know how long, and am enjoying the serenity of spending my day reading and reading and reading. But I'll not be getting the next two books when we return to the library.
I just can't understand it. If I was going to try to pass a book off as an homage to a classic author, I would be beside myself the entire time I was writing it to make it as true to the original style and characters as possible. I'd research the times I was writing about, read other books written then, study the styles, and basically immerse myself as much as is physically possibly in authentic pieces of it so my story would be respectful of and faithful to the original. The last thing I'd want is a cheap, flimsy rip-off, dishonoring the original author and my own abilities as well. I can't imagine why the author of this book didn't find that important, or why in God's name the publisher didn't.
Yeah, I expect a lot from my books. It's the same reason I don't see movies based on books - for instance, I've still not seen "Memoirs of a Geisha", and probably won't. "Pay it Forward" ruined movies based on books for me....they totally trashed important parts of the book. And it was such a good book, and there was so no reason to change them. I just get too disappointed when people mess with a good thing.
And that's been my entire Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone out there is enjoying theirs!!
Love y'all.