Pop Fiction
Nov. 15th, 2005 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerNot too long ago, I was in the library searching for a new book on tape to listen to, radio getting increasingly tiresome with every new Madonna song raping the airwaves. At one point I actually almost picked up The Hunt for Red October. Well, I admit I am something of a masochist, but I'm also kinda genuinely interested to see if Clancy-boy's worth the hype. After all, someone I knew chose to read that instead of Watchmen when given the chance.
But rather than punch myself in the balls repeatedly for once, as I would have so many opportunities later (for those of you unfamiliar as to why the author Tom Clancy is a bit of a sore spot for me, perhaps this will illuminate matters somewhat) I ended up choosing another Stephen King, Hearts in Atlantis, narrated by William Hurt.
I've only just finished the first story, the Dark Tower-related "Low Men in Yellow Coats," but it was awesome. Not a fun read/listen, that's for certain, but it really spoke to King's talents as a real writer, rather than the "horror writer" as the literary seems to have written him off for so long. It was nice to see that even when King revisits the coming of age thing yet again he can still take it into very interesting, dark, and sometimes downright infuriating places. (William Hurt also turned in a performance that shouldn't have been surprising, as I do rather love him even if I'm sure he's a huge prick in real life, and yet totally reaffirmed how good he can be even when he's not fucking Kathleen Turner)
It made me think yet again of how, if I ever became a college professor (To get paid for forcing books I love onto people and ranting about them!) I'd kind of like to teach a college course on literary merit in so-called "pop fiction" and page turners. Of course, to do that I'd have to read more best-sellers stuff. I already know some of Stephen King's work could very easily be studied and discussed, but I don't know if I could say the same for the likes of Grisham, Diane Steele, and yes, Tom Clancy.
Are any of them anything beyond entertaining fluff? Do any of those novels on newsstands feature actual character depth, insight into humanity or society, or prose that could be excerpted and studied? If Stephen King can, and work like The Stand, Salem's Lot, Hearts in Atlantis, Different Seasons, and so on seem to me that they conceivably could, then it just makes me wonder what other actually great stories are written off as supermarket crap?
What say you, fellows? Have any of the so-called "pop" novels or novelists ever struck you as being more than, well... "pop"? Methinks I should give a couple of these others authors a chance to see if they hold up under the hype.
Well, ok, maybe not Tom Clancy. I'll stick with Alan Moore, thank you very much.
But rather than punch myself in the balls repeatedly for once, as I would have so many opportunities later (for those of you unfamiliar as to why the author Tom Clancy is a bit of a sore spot for me, perhaps this will illuminate matters somewhat) I ended up choosing another Stephen King, Hearts in Atlantis, narrated by William Hurt.
I've only just finished the first story, the Dark Tower-related "Low Men in Yellow Coats," but it was awesome. Not a fun read/listen, that's for certain, but it really spoke to King's talents as a real writer, rather than the "horror writer" as the literary seems to have written him off for so long. It was nice to see that even when King revisits the coming of age thing yet again he can still take it into very interesting, dark, and sometimes downright infuriating places. (William Hurt also turned in a performance that shouldn't have been surprising, as I do rather love him even if I'm sure he's a huge prick in real life, and yet totally reaffirmed how good he can be even when he's not fucking Kathleen Turner)
It made me think yet again of how, if I ever became a college professor (To get paid for forcing books I love onto people and ranting about them!) I'd kind of like to teach a college course on literary merit in so-called "pop fiction" and page turners. Of course, to do that I'd have to read more best-sellers stuff. I already know some of Stephen King's work could very easily be studied and discussed, but I don't know if I could say the same for the likes of Grisham, Diane Steele, and yes, Tom Clancy.
Are any of them anything beyond entertaining fluff? Do any of those novels on newsstands feature actual character depth, insight into humanity or society, or prose that could be excerpted and studied? If Stephen King can, and work like The Stand, Salem's Lot, Hearts in Atlantis, Different Seasons, and so on seem to me that they conceivably could, then it just makes me wonder what other actually great stories are written off as supermarket crap?
What say you, fellows? Have any of the so-called "pop" novels or novelists ever struck you as being more than, well... "pop"? Methinks I should give a couple of these others authors a chance to see if they hold up under the hype.
Well, ok, maybe not Tom Clancy. I'll stick with Alan Moore, thank you very much.
