One day, I will get the hang of a short, chatty lj post.
I certainly hope not. :) Seeing one of your writing posts pop up in my flist is one of the highlights of my day.
I have to confess that I am not particularly well-read and have never read Wuthering Heights. However, I have read all the Twilight books, since that's the genre I write in normally, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about
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Oh, hell yeah, the creepy stalker thing is incredibly disturbing. I didn't want to get started on that, though, or the ranting would have gone much longer! The amount of times I've felt the need to point out that Twilight is grooming girls to believe that putting themselves completely into the power of a predator is romantic, brave, and will be rewarded ... *shudder*
Honestly I think counteracting the Twilight-effect is more about learning to read it critically - but good reads do help with that! Same goes for Harry Potter, I think. It's the way they misrepresent reality, and make it attractive so that we subconsciously start believing it, that is what makes them dangerous. But the same can be said of the best literature, too! Humans, man. What are ya gonna do?
I agree with you about Wuthering Heights. I read it in first year varsity, voluntarily, because some friends were studying it in English 101. I hated it. I didn't like either the hero or the heroine, and the whole thing seemed overwrought and unpleasant.
I don't know if I'd have a very different opinion if I re-read it now, as an adult who's actually experienced the kind of love that overcomes caution and rational thought!
And yet I adored Jane Eyre, which I first read at high school and have re-read several times since. Jane recognises that she loves Rochester, but is self-aware and realistic enough to know that he's highly unlikely to reciprocate. And she later has the iron will to say no, when he's offering her a tainted version of her heart's desire.
Also: I believe that Smeyer claims not to have read any vampire literature, or watched shows like Buffy. If she never read Charlaine Harris' books about Sookie Stackhouse and the vampires who love her, then the apparent similarities between that series and Twilight are truly
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Oh, totally. The ending isn't really all that "happy", either, but after some-hundred pages of utter misery, it feels nearly ecstatic by comparison. But when you read it as a cautionary tale, like Romeo and Juliet, for example, it becomes rather more fascinating. These days we're not so keen on cautionary tales, though. Because we can make anything happen if we just belieeeeeve.
Jane Eyre is awesome, I loved it. Of course, I was a little bit older when I read it, too, and that helps. It is a very mature love story, in that (unlike WH or Twilight) it extols genuine self-control. Have you ever read The Eyre Affair (and subsequent series) by Jasper Fforde? Totally brilliant and slightly unhinged take on classic literature, it's amazing
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I certainly hope not. :) Seeing one of your writing posts pop up in my flist is one of the highlights of my day.
I have to confess that I am not particularly well-read and have never read Wuthering Heights. However, I have read all the Twilight books, since that's the genre I write in normally, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about ( ... )
Reply
*blushes* - Thank you! :)
Oh, hell yeah, the creepy stalker thing is incredibly disturbing. I didn't want to get started on that, though, or the ranting would have gone much longer! The amount of times I've felt the need to point out that Twilight is grooming girls to believe that putting themselves completely into the power of a predator is romantic, brave, and will be rewarded ... *shudder*
Honestly I think counteracting the Twilight-effect is more about learning to read it critically - but good reads do help with that! Same goes for Harry Potter, I think. It's the way they misrepresent reality, and make it attractive so that we subconsciously start believing it, that is what makes them dangerous. But the same can be said of the best literature, too! Humans, man. What are ya gonna do?
Reply
I don't know if I'd have a very different opinion if I re-read it now, as an adult who's actually experienced the kind of love that overcomes caution and rational thought!
And yet I adored Jane Eyre, which I first read at high school and have re-read several times since. Jane recognises that she loves Rochester, but is self-aware and realistic enough to know that he's highly unlikely to reciprocate. And she later has the iron will to say no, when he's offering her a tainted version of her heart's desire.
Also: I believe that Smeyer claims not to have read any vampire literature, or watched shows like Buffy. If she never read Charlaine Harris' books about Sookie Stackhouse and the vampires who love her, then the apparent similarities between that series and Twilight are truly ( ... )
Reply
Oh, totally. The ending isn't really all that "happy", either, but after some-hundred pages of utter misery, it feels nearly ecstatic by comparison. But when you read it as a cautionary tale, like Romeo and Juliet, for example, it becomes rather more fascinating. These days we're not so keen on cautionary tales, though. Because we can make anything happen if we just belieeeeeve.
Jane Eyre is awesome, I loved it. Of course, I was a little bit older when I read it, too, and that helps. It is a very mature love story, in that (unlike WH or Twilight) it extols genuine self-control. Have you ever read The Eyre Affair (and subsequent series) by Jasper Fforde? Totally brilliant and slightly unhinged take on classic literature, it's amazing ( ... )
Reply
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