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dolorosa_12) wrote2021-04-03 01:21 pm
dolorosa_12) wrote2021-04-03 01:21 pm
Palimpsests?
The Easter weekend drifts on by. Today began lazily (I didn't wake up until 8.45am, which is oversleeping by my standards), with more hot cross buns and tea, a trip into the market for vegetables and cut flowers, and an hour or so finishing off Blood Maidens, the third James Asher book by Barbara Hambly. It retrod a lot of family ground (characters dashing across Europe by train, vivid portraits of major cities and their inhabitants on the eve of World War II, melodramtically gothic vampires mouldering in the dark, forgotten places), but I enjoyed it well enough.
The third question of the book meme asks for:
3. A book where you really wanted to be reading the "shadow" version of the book (as in, there are traces of a different book in the work and you would have much preferred to read that one)
I found this impossible to answer. I know of books which were changed by editorial decision mid-way through the writing process from YA science fiction dystopia to YA contemporary fiction in a really obvious way (presumably so as to discard a no longer lucrative trend for one which was the hot new thing), but I haven't read them and so can't include them here.
The only thing I can think of is something I've observed for a while now in specifically fantasy novels, with female protagonists, written by Americans, is that the characters will all be adults, and they'll exist in a world that gives them adult responsibilities, but they'll react to situations in what feels like a very teenage, YA way. I don't know if I'm explaining this very well, but it's basically as if they have the emotional development of teenagers aged 15 or 16, with no reasonable explanation (a sheltered upbringing, or a world in which an extended childhood is the norm — indeed usually the opposite is true, with such characters holding important political or military positions, or commanding bands of outlaws or whatever).
I don't really know what is behind this particular trend. If it is the 'shadow book' issue in play (authors originally conceived of their work as YA books but were made to rewrite them for an adult readership, with mixed results), obviously the effect is visible to me. But it could merely be an editorial decision (authors aiming for a more lucrative crossover hit that will appeal to a teenage readership as well), or clumsy writing. It's happened enough times that it's noticable to me, though.
Weirdly, I have never found the opposite version of this (children's or YA books with preternaturally mature and independent child/teenage characters), probably because this is the way books aimed at children have always been written. You need to get the authority figures out of the way somehow, or they'll stop the children from having adventures! But when it comes to adults behaving like teenagers, it's incredibly grating.
4. A book with a worldbuilding detail that has stuck with you
5. A book where you loved the premise but the execution left you cold
6. A book where you were dubious about the premise but loved the work
7. The most imaginative book you've seen lately
8. A book that feels like it was written just for you
9. A book that reminds you of someone
10. A book that belongs to a specific time in your mind, caught in amber
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. The one you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. The one that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A book written into your psyche
22. A warm blanket of a book
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book that led you home
30. A book you detest that people are surprised by
The third question of the book meme asks for:
3. A book where you really wanted to be reading the "shadow" version of the book (as in, there are traces of a different book in the work and you would have much preferred to read that one)
I found this impossible to answer. I know of books which were changed by editorial decision mid-way through the writing process from YA science fiction dystopia to YA contemporary fiction in a really obvious way (presumably so as to discard a no longer lucrative trend for one which was the hot new thing), but I haven't read them and so can't include them here.
The only thing I can think of is something I've observed for a while now in specifically fantasy novels, with female protagonists, written by Americans, is that the characters will all be adults, and they'll exist in a world that gives them adult responsibilities, but they'll react to situations in what feels like a very teenage, YA way. I don't know if I'm explaining this very well, but it's basically as if they have the emotional development of teenagers aged 15 or 16, with no reasonable explanation (a sheltered upbringing, or a world in which an extended childhood is the norm — indeed usually the opposite is true, with such characters holding important political or military positions, or commanding bands of outlaws or whatever).
I don't really know what is behind this particular trend. If it is the 'shadow book' issue in play (authors originally conceived of their work as YA books but were made to rewrite them for an adult readership, with mixed results), obviously the effect is visible to me. But it could merely be an editorial decision (authors aiming for a more lucrative crossover hit that will appeal to a teenage readership as well), or clumsy writing. It's happened enough times that it's noticable to me, though.
Weirdly, I have never found the opposite version of this (children's or YA books with preternaturally mature and independent child/teenage characters), probably because this is the way books aimed at children have always been written. You need to get the authority figures out of the way somehow, or they'll stop the children from having adventures! But when it comes to adults behaving like teenagers, it's incredibly grating.
4. A book with a worldbuilding detail that has stuck with you
5. A book where you loved the premise but the execution left you cold
6. A book where you were dubious about the premise but loved the work
7. The most imaginative book you've seen lately
8. A book that feels like it was written just for you
9. A book that reminds you of someone
10. A book that belongs to a specific time in your mind, caught in amber
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. The one you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. The one that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A book written into your psyche
22. A warm blanket of a book
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book that led you home
30. A book you detest that people are surprised by
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Oddly enough, I have no desire to read it!
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I have usually DNF those sort of fantasy books within the first few chapters. Neither here nor there.
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The weird thing is that I actually think (based on survey data) that the majority of the readership of current YA fiction is actually adults, rather than teenagers, which makes the whole situation even more wild!
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I certainly can think of a lot of books where I feel the same way as you re: preferring secondary characters!