tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089597213803140907.post6778923922501578913..comments2023-10-24T11:43:18.859-04:00Comments on The Chaw Shop: A Good Book Is Hard to FindThe Chawmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08817936739545420642noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089597213803140907.post-26513846615978492312010-09-09T09:35:20.697-04:002010-09-09T09:35:20.697-04:00John, well put -- and I totally agree. I definite...John, well put -- and I totally agree. I definitely think that these authors, far from being motivated by "marketability" (whatever that is), are using writing as a means of exploring their own peculiar obsessions and influences, which in my opinion is the aim of any worthwhile art.<br /><br />It's interesting: Grossman seems to think this piece (and others he's written) somehow serve to restore "entertainment" to its rightful place in our consideration of literature. But to the contrary, I actually think that a piece like this helps open the perceived gap wider between "entertainment" and "art." Because what Grossman is saying here, basically, is that any elements readers find "entertaining" in a work are there simply to increase readership/sales, not for any larger aesthetic purpose. Which in my opinion is insulting to just about everyone involved, readers and writers both.The Chawmongerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08817936739545420642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089597213803140907.post-58508868847191431382010-09-08T14:18:36.423-04:002010-09-08T14:18:36.423-04:00Grossman's WSJ article drove me batty, too. I ...Grossman's WSJ article drove me batty, too. I spent two hours ripping it apart, then deleted my diatribe for the sake of sanity. It's relieving that somebody else took such issue with it. Did you get to the part where he claimed The Great Gatsby was full of action?<br /><br />I agree with your idea, "But I don't think Kelly Link's zombies, or Chabon's comic book superheroes, or Lethem's gumshoes, or Clarke's magicians (or Grossman's magicians, for that matter), are just a concession, something tossed in to keep antsy readers placated and entertained. I don't think they could be swapped out and replaced with something trendier (OMG vampires!!1) without some intrinsic meaning being lost." Grossman, as a student of sales, sees people mixing the literary and the entertaining as concession and market movement. I think it has more to do with people growing up loving those Genre Genres and thoughtful fiction, and bringing both to their work. It's something I certainly play with. But a lot of modern criticism exists as "anything positive you claim is false, anything negative you claim must be true" - cynicism would lead people to assume self-interest and scheming.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.com