--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Patrick King
<abrasax93@...> wrote:
>
> Mark wrote:
> Damn, a little elitist, eh? I refuse to believe
that
> modern readers of
> escapist literature are not "discerning readers."
And
> many of the
> classics in our genre are the escapist literature
of
> their day -- Gold
> Medal, anyone? Regardless of the level of
> "discernment, " no readers
> seek out books they expect to dislike.
> **********
>
> I'm just being realistic. Most readers DO judge a
book
> by it's cover. It's impossible to know how
many
> readers, like myself, bought The Davinci Code and
were
> horribly disappointed by it.
.....
> But by comparison to Dan Brown, Jim Thompson was
on
> par with Tolstoy.
>
Obviously (very obviously), Jim Thompson wrote a far better
noir novel than Tolstoy. I think you're prejudiced, perhaps
by the old division between "real fiction" and "genre
fiction" in lit courses. It's bullshit, of course, just like
the division between "serious music" and "entertainment
music". Why the hell would you read a work of fiction or
listen to a piece of music if it doesn't entertain you in the
first place. It's not like reading and listening to music
(add any other art you want) are mandatory activities. If two
guys are Ellington fans, say, and one says it's because the
stuff swings and the other says that it's because he likes to
dissect the harmonies and analyze the relationship of
Ellington's method to the avant-gardists in France, would you
privilege the harmonies guy? Very dubious.
Best,
MrT
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