Oddly, the head judge of the forthcoming Orange Prize, Daisy Goodwin, has claimed that too many books by women involve sexual abuse, rape, and Asian twins. Instead, she would like more humour. Her complaint is that books seem dark, and focus on depressing issues. Where is the light stuff? The dumbing down of British culture continues apace. Where novels, such as Hard Times, or Middlemarch (to name one by a woman), once dealt with the struggle and hardship of human existence, now it appears, contemporary novelists who actually explore themes and concerns that are of relevance to actual women (alas, these include incest, abuse, rape, as well as twins) are in danger of boring readers like Goodwin. Perhaps the problem is such prizes themselves. Asking anyone to read 120 or more novels over a limited period is a marathon a day sort of madness. Instead of savouring, one begins to look for ways out of the tedium. So - a good laff. Ironically, whereas British novels are apparently ever-less-funny, more and more poetry is light etc. Maybe the judges of prose should come back to poetry. And leave the darkness to the big girls and boys.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Orange is not the only fruitcake
Oddly, the head judge of the forthcoming Orange Prize, Daisy Goodwin, has claimed that too many books by women involve sexual abuse, rape, and Asian twins. Instead, she would like more humour. Her complaint is that books seem dark, and focus on depressing issues. Where is the light stuff? The dumbing down of British culture continues apace. Where novels, such as Hard Times, or Middlemarch (to name one by a woman), once dealt with the struggle and hardship of human existence, now it appears, contemporary novelists who actually explore themes and concerns that are of relevance to actual women (alas, these include incest, abuse, rape, as well as twins) are in danger of boring readers like Goodwin. Perhaps the problem is such prizes themselves. Asking anyone to read 120 or more novels over a limited period is a marathon a day sort of madness. Instead of savouring, one begins to look for ways out of the tedium. So - a good laff. Ironically, whereas British novels are apparently ever-less-funny, more and more poetry is light etc. Maybe the judges of prose should come back to poetry. And leave the darkness to the big girls and boys.
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ooo boo-urn
ReplyDeleteDear Todd
ReplyDeleteIf Daisy wants to read a funny novel, she should try 'The Pregnant Widow' by Martin Amis. It is a ridiculous and surreal work in many ways but has had me laughing out loud from page one.
Best wishes from Simon
I don't think that's an altogether fair reflection of what Goodwin said. She didn't object to dark materials being present but pointed out that the world contains light materials too and that a writer who wanted to reflect "real life" (the excuse for so much misery-writing) would actually need to include both. She mentioned the word "redemptive" and said, fairly enough, that novels with no redemptive possibilities are a bit depressing (also, I'd say, a bit unrealistic). And she said that one reason we pick up a book is to be entertained, in which I concur. That doesn't mean wanting only laughs; I for one find angst and tension immensely entertaining. In fact my gripe with a lot of contemporary litfic is that it ignores the need, the human craving, for story; there's a limit to the number of pages I can read about the inside of someone's head, while I wait desperately for something interesting to happen.
ReplyDeleteI can't help thinking that actually there is a huge need for women to keep writing about the darker side of their experiences. From a feminist point of view, this kind of critique is hugely important in helping to bring about change. On the other hand, perhaps we need to be projecting how we would like the world to be rather than how it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree.. because there are a lot of fruit that can maked a cake...
ReplyDelete