Biting and stinging hurts; why would I read something that is painful? I read for knowledge and for entertainment. If a story must be analyzed or studied to discover a meaning then, in my opinion, the story is not well written. Franz Kafka was a disturbed individual who’s writing was likely a failed attempt to make sense of his own confusion.
The last story I read that was difficult to read was “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I had no intentions of reading the story, but my daughter bought a hard copy for me and I would not waste her money. The story in itself was weak, however, I could see potential. Unfortunately, the writer was neither properly trained in writing nor properly informed in the subject matter. There was so many mechanical errors that it was truly painful to read. After a few pages, it was more than apparent that the story was lacking. The viewpoint, first person present, was distracting. The voice was awkward and unstable. The movement of the story was slow in the beginning, slower in the middle and completely died at the end. The characters, borrowed from the series Twilight, were two dimensional, underdeveloped, flat and unbelievable. A college student who has never sent emails; who did not know how to set up or use a laptop? It was filled with repetitive text that flowed like a hack job with cut-and-pastes sessions. The transitions were non-existent. The writer jumped from point A to point C with no means of getting there. This story started as fan-fic and should have stayed there. There is no place for it in mainstream literature.
I do not like every book that I read, some books are so boring they are difficult to finish. Such stories are well written and edited, only the content is uninteresting to me. “Fifty Shades of Grey” had potential, the story line was underdeveloped but could have been done well had the writer taken time to learn the trade and research their subject matter. All the annoying, time-consuming processes of professional publishing was skirted by self-publishing with the electronic version of vanity pressing. Reading this story has left me twice-shy about reading or purchasing anything that comes to me from electronic publishing. It seems there are no standards in that media and the works published are not brought before an editor before pressing. One issue that prevents me from placing this story to rest in the one place it deserves to be is that some people believe that the book is worthy of being called literature. I do pray that this trash does not become the norm in the future of literature.
I haven’t read it. Probably never will, but you are not the first to say these things…and probably not the last.
That last line was exactly what I was talking about with a friend a few weeks ago. It seems gone are stories like Great Expectations and The Grapes of Wrath and have been replaced with The Hunger Games, Twilight, and 50 Shades. It seems there is no such thing as great works of literature anymore. It’s all hodgepodge “pop-lit” turn my book into a Hollywood blockbuster.
The Hunger Games was written for Scholastic Inc. A book commissioned toward young adult readers. Twilight and 5o Shades were both written by writers who have not been trained in the trade. There seems to be little difference between writing well and making money these days. I miss Roger Zelazny.
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I too miss Roger Zelazny, and Robert Heinlein, and even Philip K. Dick, as commercially successful as he’s become since he died. Tom Clancy’s most recent collaboration is weak and fragile. The current release of the Deathlands series, under James Axler’s name is perhaps one of the most disappointing of the set. A ghost-written series by a committee of 8 or 9 key-pounders, Mars Arena contained innumerable valid literary and historical references. Hell Road Warriors, on the other hand is rife with historical, geographical, Physics and English usage errors. “He got to the dock early to get a good birth on the ferry, but forgot to chalk the wheels of the LAV.” Spellcheck just won’t do it! An editor, an editor, my kingdom for an editor.