Several of the reviews for the Calcutta Chromosome mentioned the ending lost them. But since the beginning got me so well, I figure I'll keep reading until I'm no longer got. The unlikeable characters thing seems to be a requirement for a lot of literary fiction. I think the theory is that if you actually, y'know, enjoy the [fictional] people you're meeting, then it's BAD. And therefore GENRE. Because only genre is allowed to be a [guilty] pleasure -- if it's literary, it must be as un-pleasure as possible. Still, being relatively unlikeable myself, I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, and I'll see if I can't track down a copy. Thank you for the recs!
[The problem with the WiP was the last thing I expected: I did a test run of the first page via a blog that hosts unpublished first pages... and the replies that weren't complaining about it being in 3rd-person-present, were complaining that they'd never read a story where they "couldn't pronounce the character's name". And here I thought I'd picked a relatively easy surname: only six letters! And only one three-consonant string, instead of multiples! And no accents, either! Of all the criticisms I expected (including getting quite valid and valuable ones from a few of the replies), the bitter complaints about "not reading a book with an unpronounceable name" were really the hardest criticisms I've ever had to swallow. I was this close to snarking back something like, "I guess there's a shitload you just don't freaking read" or "I figured the world had enough stories about boring white Anglos living in the suburbs". But I didn't. Though I really really wanted to, because that single repeated criticism felt like nothing more than simple racism. What hurt, though, was that no one called anyone on it: like only stories with characters named Joe or Mike (or Dirk or Forrest or whatever corny hero-names are in this year) are worth reading? No one stood up and said, gee, that refusal to read about people who, hmm, might be different from you sounds like a personal problem to me. I mean, I know my ideas are often quite solid for stories but my writing has a long way to catch up, but that criticism made me think... wow, if I feel this angry and helpless against that, how must someone feel who does have a name (or background) like that, trying to write a story they genuinely know, but doesn't have all the advantages my culture's given me? My hill must be a freaking mountain to them, so I should do something, find some favorites, and support them noisily, y'know? Although it would really help to have a contract again to have the money to do so, but then, that's what libraries are for, in the meantime, eh.]
ETA: hopefully I'm not sounding like a total twit here (no more than the idiot I usually am, at least), just... it caught me off-guard and I'm still not entirely sure how to react, other than be pissed.
no subject
Date: 30 Jun 2011 12:30 am (UTC)[The problem with the WiP was the last thing I expected: I did a test run of the first page via a blog that hosts unpublished first pages... and the replies that weren't complaining about it being in 3rd-person-present, were complaining that they'd never read a story where they "couldn't pronounce the character's name". And here I thought I'd picked a relatively easy surname: only six letters! And only one three-consonant string, instead of multiples! And no accents, either! Of all the criticisms I expected (including getting quite valid and valuable ones from a few of the replies), the bitter complaints about "not reading a book with an unpronounceable name" were really the hardest criticisms I've ever had to swallow. I was this close to snarking back something like, "I guess there's a shitload you just don't freaking read" or "I figured the world had enough stories about boring white Anglos living in the suburbs". But I didn't. Though I really really wanted to, because that single repeated criticism felt like nothing more than simple racism. What hurt, though, was that no one called anyone on it: like only stories with characters named Joe or Mike (or Dirk or Forrest or whatever corny hero-names are in this year) are worth reading? No one stood up and said, gee, that refusal to read about people who, hmm, might be different from you sounds like a personal problem to me. I mean, I know my ideas are often quite solid for stories but my writing has a long way to catch up, but that criticism made me think... wow, if I feel this angry and helpless against that, how must someone feel who does have a name (or background) like that, trying to write a story they genuinely know, but doesn't have all the advantages my culture's given me? My hill must be a freaking mountain to them, so I should do something, find some favorites, and support them noisily, y'know? Although it would really help to have a contract again to have the money to do so, but then, that's what libraries are for, in the meantime, eh.]
ETA: hopefully I'm not sounding like a total twit here (no more than the idiot I usually am, at least), just... it caught me off-guard and I'm still not entirely sure how to react, other than be pissed.