On anti-HP-hype
Dec. 21st, 2004 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
A lot of people on my friends list today have posted about how they don't want the new HP book when it comes out. Harry Potter is derivative, a rip-off. It's badly written. It's in serious need of a good editing job. It's overhyped!
Well, yeah. I know!
I have always liked literary fluff. I still have very fond memories of the Baby-Sitters Club books, and of the Sweet Valley Twins series. I will happily read cheesy sci-fi novels with plot holes big enough to drive trucks though. (I also watch Lifetime and Disney made-for-tv movies, which really should give an indication of my taste). Yes, I read and enjoy serious works as well, but I've always felt there was a little bit of fun in reading candy. Or mocking it, whatever.
Am I the only one who sees it that way? Don't take Harry Potter so seriously. Read it, laugh, and move on with your life. Or don't read it. But don't diss those of us who happen to like badly-written books and movies.
Well, yeah. I know!
I have always liked literary fluff. I still have very fond memories of the Baby-Sitters Club books, and of the Sweet Valley Twins series. I will happily read cheesy sci-fi novels with plot holes big enough to drive trucks though. (I also watch Lifetime and Disney made-for-tv movies, which really should give an indication of my taste). Yes, I read and enjoy serious works as well, but I've always felt there was a little bit of fun in reading candy. Or mocking it, whatever.
Am I the only one who sees it that way? Don't take Harry Potter so seriously. Read it, laugh, and move on with your life. Or don't read it. But don't diss those of us who happen to like badly-written books and movies.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 11:21 pm (UTC)When she first wrote the HP books, she was a nobody. She had to fit the confining rules of children's fiction, which means that excess words and sentences were struck down mercilessly. Sometimes this is cruel - the editor wantonly takes out things that belong. But often it has merit, and things which are unnecessary are removed.
Now she's popular. Everybody loves her. She can do what she wants. And that means she writes her books longer and longer, and doesn't take out all the stuff that can not exist, that adds nothing to the story.
In the end, the writing suffers because it's full of dreck. It has good stuff too, but she's not editing out the bloat anymore, and the stories are slower, and slower, and have too much in them.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 11:32 pm (UTC)