First, I apologize for last week's lack of Maintenance Monday, but sometimes the end of the month gets tricky in terms of all the posts I want to get out, and I didn't want to bombard you
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I haven't read Matched though it's on my to-read list, but I have read The Giver. It was the book my 4th or 5th grader teacher read out to us (and I'm now 24 years old) and I absolutely adore it. Everytime a professor asks us to fill in a survey and the question "What's your favorite book?/What book you recommend people to read?" The Giver is my answer. I haven't read a lot of Lois Lowry's other books so she's not a favorite author like Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Carey, Isaac Asimov or Catherynne Valente are, but that book, that book I love
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It's such a weird topic, isn't it? I mean, it's one thing if the author says they were influenced by an earlier work, but it's another if you never hear from the author about the comparisons. It's almost like they're TRYING to hide something, even though that may not be the case.
Hey, are you, by chance, watching The Walking Dead on amc? It's two episodes in so far!
So far, so good. There wasn't a feminist squick conversation in the second episode, and we're already starting to see signs of the man Rick will become.
And you can see in the second episode where they're departing from the comics. For the most part, that's MOSTLY good.
OMG, I love love love The Giver. I have a copy on my shelf and still re-read it periodically. Haven't read Matched, and if it's just a rehash of The Giver, I don't intend to.
Hi Shara - Interesting topic. I tend to be rather lenient with stories that appear to copy an earlier source because I'm one of those cynical bastards who believes that there's nothing new under the sun. I've written hundreds of stories in my mind, and I wouldn't be the least surprised to hear that someone else has already done it, and probably done it better too.
All that matters to me is whether I enjoyed the story itself, which is why I was so bummed to see TJ recant her rave for The Hunger Games just because she learned about Battle Royale. Did this earlier work really take away all the enjoyment she felt while reading THG for the first time? I don't get that.
BTW, I have plans to read Matched, but now that I've heard of The Giver, I'll see if I can find that one too. Boy, that old man cover sucks. I would never have picked it up without a recommendation (I know, I know, I'm so ageist - I'll try to rise above my shortcomings... one of these days).
Hey, the cover's one of the many reasons I've overlooked the book! So we're in the same boat!
I'm honestly torn on this topic. I think it's one thing if it's a case where, say, the new author knew nothing of what came before and it's an honest overlap, because like you say, there's nothing new under the sun. There's BOUND to be similarities somewhere, and I'm cynical about the Battle Royale comparison because it's based on anime, and anime is a cult thing. We can't assume Collins is familiar with it, you know?
But on the other hand, sometimes those similarities make you wonder about plagiarism, and that's a hot topic these days. If I found out something I read/watched and enjoyed was actually intentionally ripping something else off? I'm gonna feel cheated.
The problem with cases like Collins and Condie is that there's no way to prove either way, you know? With Collins, I have no interest in reading Battle Royale, though if we get our hands on the movie, I might give it a go. But with Condie, it's oddly more personal, and I can't
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Exactly, I'm not comfortable casting aspersions on an author because I assume that she ganked an idea from somebody else. The fact is that plagiarism is darn near impossible to prove unless someone lifts passages verbatim from another person's work. I also believe that new ideas are very, very rare, and it's entirely possible for two different people to come up with remarkably similar ideas.
I think this happens all over, and not just with writers. Thomas Edison gets all the credit for inventing the light bulb, but Joseph Swan started working on the concept in 1850!
FYI: Anime means "Japanese cartoons." Battle Royale is not an anime. It is a Japanese live-action movie, a novel, and a manga (comic book series.) I also wouldn't be so quick to write off anime as a cult thing. It's become quite mainstream in the US now, especially among young people.
I have no idea if Collins was familiar with it in any of its incarnations or not, but the similarities are quite striking.
On the other hand, the basic concept dates back to The Running Man, which predates BR, and, without the reality TV angle, to a short story called "The Most Dangerous Game," which predates TRM.
I haven't read "matched" but "the giver" is phenomenal.
"The Hunger Games" is a series that I greatly enjoyed but is also not very original. I haven't read "battle royale" (and was totally unaware of it before I started seeing HG compared to it) but HG is very VERY similar to a LOT of YA dystopian (usually post-apocalyptic) stuff I've read. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. For instance, I expect books about zombies to have similarities and overlap and I expect the same from dystopian stuff.
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Hey, are you, by chance, watching The Walking Dead on amc? It's two episodes in so far!
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And you can see in the second episode where they're departing from the comics. For the most part, that's MOSTLY good.
And Glenn rocks!
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But I'll let everyone know my thoughts on The Giver, as I thoroughly intend to read it!
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All that matters to me is whether I enjoyed the story itself, which is why I was so bummed to see TJ recant her rave for The Hunger Games just because she learned about Battle Royale. Did this earlier work really take away all the enjoyment she felt while reading THG for the first time? I don't get that.
BTW, I have plans to read Matched, but now that I've heard of The Giver, I'll see if I can find that one too. Boy, that old man cover sucks. I would never have picked it up without a recommendation (I know, I know, I'm so ageist - I'll try to rise above my shortcomings... one of these days).
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I'm honestly torn on this topic. I think it's one thing if it's a case where, say, the new author knew nothing of what came before and it's an honest overlap, because like you say, there's nothing new under the sun. There's BOUND to be similarities somewhere, and I'm cynical about the Battle Royale comparison because it's based on anime, and anime is a cult thing. We can't assume Collins is familiar with it, you know?
But on the other hand, sometimes those similarities make you wonder about plagiarism, and that's a hot topic these days. If I found out something I read/watched and enjoyed was actually intentionally ripping something else off? I'm gonna feel cheated.
The problem with cases like Collins and Condie is that there's no way to prove either way, you know? With Collins, I have no interest in reading Battle Royale, though if we get our hands on the movie, I might give it a go. But with Condie, it's oddly more personal, and I can't ( ... )
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I think this happens all over, and not just with writers. Thomas Edison gets all the credit for inventing the light bulb, but Joseph Swan started working on the concept in 1850!
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I have no idea if Collins was familiar with it in any of its incarnations or not, but the similarities are quite striking.
On the other hand, the basic concept dates back to The Running Man, which predates BR, and, without the reality TV angle, to a short story called "The Most Dangerous Game," which predates TRM.
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"The Hunger Games" is a series that I greatly enjoyed but is also not very original. I haven't read "battle royale" (and was totally unaware of it before I started seeing HG compared to it) but HG is very VERY similar to a LOT of YA dystopian (usually post-apocalyptic) stuff I've read. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. For instance, I expect books about zombies to have similarities and overlap and I expect the same from dystopian stuff.
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