Crawl Inside an Author's Mind
Are you the sort of reader who "psyches out" the author as you read? (Sorry about the '60s verbiage, but GO HOME AND DIE is weighing on my mind!)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
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