Thursday, September 24, 2009
Books are addicting, but also frustrating
I have gotten addicted to reading books over the summer, and have read a dozen books since June. I am focusing on historical fiction, as i think this interests me most and also helps me professionally the most. I have read Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth" and am reading the sequel called "World without End." Here is where my frustration comes in. Follett is a great writer and Pillars of the Earth is one of my all time favorite books, however some of his character portrayals frustrate me. It seems that no matter what, siblings must be at the complete far ends of their parents genetics. Usually there are 2 siblings and one is inherently good and smart and the other is inherently evil and dumb. Life is not like that. I have 4 brothers and we are not very different. Yet every family in his books has good and evil sides. Frustrating.
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I completely agree. If anyone has ever read Stephen King, they will notice how a majority of his main characters are writers and live in Main. Dean Koontz is even worse - most of his characters come from hellish backgrounds (broken homes, abusive relationships, physical trauma), yet they all have stunningly noble characteristics. Oh yeah, and there's always a dog (usual a golden retriever).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, for me, this has made reading both of those writers nearly impossible. Because of this, their stories don't often ring true . . . and you might well be finding this with Mr. Follett.