I was watching Twilight in Forks, a documentary on the real-life town the Twilight books are set in and their impact on the town, and found this quote from author John Granger interesting:
"I'm not putting people down that have genre revulsion, except when they say she's a bad writer. When they come after her and say, This isn't just a matter of taste, I can't get that. Basically they say that, No, these are stupid readers who have no taste, and their experience is not real. That's the part that gets me: Wow, can you really say that? That these people are having what they feel are profound literary experiences, engagement in this text, and resonance at their core being, that's not real. That's something that they're faking?"
Now I'm no Twihard--I read the first book and didn't like it enough to read the second one, but I could see why they are popular--but I think Granger makes an interesting point, especially when we're talking about kids' books. If kids are reading, should we be snobby about what they're reading? I mean, there are obviously limits to this flexibility, but it is food for thought.
Granger also notes that Stephen King has panned the Twilight books for bad writing. However, King himself has had to defend himself against the critics who say his books are "just" genre fiction, and has said "If my book sells, I'm a good writer."
By that measure, Granger argues, "Well, Stephenie Meyer is a great writer."
What do you think? All I know is, I love this new term I've learned: genre revulsion. I'm going to apply it to lots of things from now on . . .
- L'Editrice
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