lizbee | (Reply)

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I find there's something so satisfying about a happy or bittersweet ending that feels earned. Equally, a deliberately unsatisfying ending can also be very effective in the hands of a skilful writer. I recently finished a novel called 'The Break' by Katherena Vermette, and that novel is incredibly depressing and bleak because it deals with institutionalised racism towards First Nations Canadian peoples and how the cycles of abuse and addiction affect multiple generations. A novel like that can't be 'wholesome' or 'comfy,' nor should it be. You should feel uncomfortable reading it. What made the darkness bearable is the love between many of the characters, even in the most horrendous of circumstances.

I guess I don't like the notion that reading should always be a 'comfy' experience. Part of why I read is to expose myself to varying perspectives and experiences in the world, and sometimes that means reading something that challenges my worldview or makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't think you should keep reading something that makes you miserable if you don't want to (I've certainly nope'd out of many a book for various reasons), but to say that everything should be 'wholesome' feels to me like covering your ears and going "LALALA NOT LISTENING" about the state of the world.

Edit: I also feel like something is wrong with me sometimes when I see absolutist statements on tumblr. Stuff like "oh, women want to see soft boys in sweaters!" Uh, no, give me shirtless Chris Hemsworth, please. Or how it's hard to find F/F stuff that isn't soft, pastel (and mostly white) aesthetic. Argh, give me complex or difficult relationships between women, please!