I’ll go out and get the abridged version of Jay-Z’s lyrics. I’ll tell you something, I wouldn’t do it for five millions dollars and a limo to the airport,

I’ll tell you why, I didn’t learn anything in my entire life reading crap I didn’t like, which was crap because I said it was crap. That’s how I became an artist.

G.

Interesting that you had a similar reaction to Atonement. I’m wondering if McEwan is just one of those writers you either love or hate.

Thanks for the belief in my literary greatness! You are too kind!!!

I’m more of an Austen/Dickens girl, but I also enjoy reading fluff like “Bridget Jones” and “The Devil Wears Prada” because I can relate to the characters, they are funny, and they are more believable as you say. It’s all mindless fluff, yes, but it’s ok once in a while, I think. I personally cannot be reading deep and profound texts ALL the time. Life is way too deep and profound already. Books are my escape!

With regards to your book, I am not an expert novel writer, but I am an avid reader, so here are my two cents. I guess I understand that you are trying to lay down plausible, believable fiction, and I can see why you don’t want your author voice to be too evident. You want the reader to be immersed in the story and follow its natural course. However, people are going to know that it’s fiction and that somebody put it together by making a series of literary decisions.
I don’t know how other people read, but I am always aware of the text and the subtext of any piece of writing. What is the message the characters are passing down to me, the reader? What is the author saying? Why did he or she do this or that in the text? Why was something included or left out?
I’m just saying don’t fret too much over it, and just focus on the actual storyline. I’m sure it will be literary greatness!!

BTW, I am great fan of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian writer, who, in my opinion, is one of THE best storytellers of our time. I have read his works in Spanish and it is amazing how he uses language to convey so much meaning. His works are available in English too, but I have no idea how they translate. I think the nuances of Spanish are not easily translatable.

Ok, that is all for now. Have a great weekend!

I think you wrote this posting just to piss me off! LOL!

If you want to give McEwan another shot, check out The Cement Garden and The Comfort of Strangers.

Interestingly though, McEwan’s latest work have not appealed to me at all and I suspect I will agree with many of your points about Enduring Love

Also, I find that as a writer it’s a valuable experience to read books that you do not like.

This way when examining why, as you do in this posting, it is clearer what you do NOT want your book to be comparable to in regard to ideas, themes, narrative style and structure, etc…