tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post1175798604238448078..comments2024-03-29T04:16:17.318-07:00Comments on Kittling: Books: Saturday Soliloquy-- Do We Always Have to Have the Absolute Truth?Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774383554326288663noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-53872673776674353712009-04-04T15:22:00.000-07:002009-04-04T15:22:00.000-07:00I haven't read the Opal book, but I loved West wit...I haven't read the Opal book, but I loved West with the Night. If her husband helped her with it, then good for her for finding a talented editor -- isn't that what lots of good writers do? What about writers who take suggestions from their workshop groups, etc.? A writer can take suggestions from anyone and the final work is still hers. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, hiring a ghost writer doesn't count in my book, so that's where I draw the line.<BR/><BR/>And A Million Little Pieces should come with a warning sticker -- "This book was fraudulently marketed as non-fiction, but is a novel."Gilion at Rose City Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18080293172467000794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-78838681228856645592009-04-04T13:44:00.000-07:002009-04-04T13:44:00.000-07:00Lana--Shakespeare is an excellent example to use. ...Lana--Shakespeare is an excellent example to use. I think a lot of this "controversy" boils down to something very plain and simple: jealousy. Since I see myself as a reader and not a writer, I'm just happy that things like this are available for me to read. Thanks for sharing your opinion!<BR/><BR/>Kathy--unfortunately it's the way of the world to torment the weak. My mother had a nervous breakdown when I was a baby. Some folks in town spent their entire lives "looking at her funny". Thanks for your comment!<BR/><BR/>Sandra--I don't think the nay-sayers would have nearly as much fun, do you? Sad commentary on the jealous. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!<BR/><BR/>Corey--very, very true. Thanks for your comment!<BR/><BR/>Beth--I'd forgotten that old claptrap about LIW. Thanks for reminding me--and thanks for your comment!<BR/><BR/>Charlie--How did you know Frey was on my mind? I must've been thinking too loudly. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your opinion. Much appreciated!<BR/><BR/>Susan--sounds like you agree with me, which isn't necessary (but nice). I'm enjoying everyone's comments on this!Cathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01774383554326288663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-77802578510041724952009-04-04T13:24:00.000-07:002009-04-04T13:24:00.000-07:00I think a little leeway is fine. Ask six people wh...I think a little leeway is fine. Ask six people what happened on the corner yesterday and you get six different versions. None of them are "wrong". <BR/><BR/>But I feel betrayed and cross when I discover somebody has set out to dupe me by writing a whole book as nonfiction, when in fact it is fiction.BookChookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230711251425187241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-53454327108566611802009-04-04T13:01:00.000-07:002009-04-04T13:01:00.000-07:00...there's a very fine line between genius and mad...<I>...there's a very fine line between genius and madness.</I><BR/><BR/>You're so very right, Cathy, and I think it's entirely possible that Opal wrote the diary.<BR/><BR/>As far as Markham goes, who <I>doesn't</I> have editing help?<BR/><BR/>As far as I'm concerned, if a story is well written and it moves me (or haunts me), then I don't care who wrote it. We all love age-old fables, but do we care who wrote it? Who, in fact, was Homer?<BR/><BR/>The only thing I can't abide are flat-out liars like James Frey. I knew he was full of it from the start, but this is not the place to discuss it.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722567671925063706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-14536902566064754662009-04-04T08:40:00.000-07:002009-04-04T08:40:00.000-07:00I loved West with the Night, which I read years ag...I loved West with the Night, which I read years ago. I've not read Opal, but similar rumors were started about Laura Ingels Wilder too: Supposedly she was incapable of writing so well and so her daughter, Rose, must have done the writing.<BR/><BR/>In any case, your last paragraph does a good job summing up my own thoughts.Beth Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627666337961326265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-7895558196811723592009-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:002009-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:00To me, saying someone with no formal education can...To me, saying someone with no formal education cannot write great prose or poetry is like saying someone with no formal training could never play a musical instrument proficiently or beautifully. And we all know that just ain't so.Corey Wildehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05566740230330395590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-39720000063216709452009-04-04T06:09:00.000-07:002009-04-04T06:09:00.000-07:00If I enjoyed a story, or diary etc. I wouldn't car...If I enjoyed a story, or diary etc. I wouldn't care what the age of the author was or if it had been represented as younger than they actually were. Just like I wouldn't change my mind about not enjoying a story because the author was considered the best or won great prizes and accolades. Don't let anyone spoil your first enjoyment of these works I say.<BR/>And as to having help to get something into it's final form. What if they did have help-everyone goes through editing from someone before they're published. If their thoughts touched us, it's worth reading them and the nay sayers can go read someone else.Sandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06265301061583417768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-87443616461719037392009-04-04T04:37:00.000-07:002009-04-04T04:37:00.000-07:00What a sad story about Opal. I had never read the...What a sad story about Opal. I had never read the book or heard of it but after reading this it makes me want to find a copy. Thats to bad no one believed that she could have actually written the story. To actually destroy someones reputation without proof is just wrong.Kathy Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02026987005323003596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999659125625323494.post-4122864742057352012009-04-04T01:35:00.000-07:002009-04-04T01:35:00.000-07:00In all honesty, I shy away from 'child prodigy...In all honesty, I shy away from 'child prodigy' books. I've read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (published at 13) and Christopher Paolini. In both cases, I put the books down wishing they had waited a few more years to develop their writing style & own ideas. So when I saw a book that trumpeted that the author was 14, I actually went the other way (not what the marketer intended, I'm sure). <BR/><BR/>I think with the age thing? I would feel cheated. People make such a big deal out of being precocious that I think it does matter whether you were 6 or 20. Whether or not they had help... that I don't really care about. <BR/><BR/>But the first thing that sprang to mind when I read your soliloquy is that these very same arguments are being made over Shakespeare. Most of the anti-Stratfordians believe some hick from Warwickshire couldn't possibly have written those plays and that he must have been a front for an aristocrat - and my reaction is the same as yours: why on earth COULDN'T someone relatively uneducated have a way with words? Storytellers have been around as long as we have after all!Lanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com