A Tale of Two Narrators
Author A writes fiction, so when I use the term “narrator,” I don’t really mean his various protagonists. I mean, him. The author.
I loved his books and followed him on GoodReads so I could always know when he released another. He was not only a good writer, but he came across as a good guy. A thoughtful guy. A really kind guy.
So I was somewhat shocked by something heartless that he wrote online, and I emailed him to address it, pointing out some things he may not have known or considered when he came to his point-of-view. I thought he’d write back something along the lines of “That’s a good point, but I still think X, Y, or Z” or “Crap, I hadn’t consider that. Let me post an apology.”
That’s not what happened.
He doubled down, tripled down, and then went completely off-the-rails with his argument, posting multiple times about it online, each time more offensive than the last. Nothing like how he had presented himself up until this moment. I quietly unfollowed him on GoodReads and stopped reading his articles online. His fiction just wasn’t enjoyable anymore now once I got this peek at the narrator.
Author B writes nonfiction, so he is the actual “narrator” of his memoir.
I purchased one of his books, so I decided to finish it, but he came across as a real asshole. All I could think as I read his book was how much I never wanted to meet him or have a conversation with him. I kept looking ahead to see how many more pages I would have to endure.
Yet when I got to last page, I felt really sad. I had developed almost a Narrator Stockholm Syndrome, where I had come to like my literary captor. There is a part two to his memoirs, and I think I may buy it. He’s an asshole, but he doesn’t try to hide that he’s an asshole. And he’s an equal-opportunity asshole, a dick to individuals (friends and non-friends alike) vs. being against a group of people.
I’m not sure what this means when I’m willing to spend time with a miserable narrator who is honest vs. a seemingly thoughtful narrator who (at one point) hid his disgusting point-of-view.
7 comments
I appreciate honesty more than surprise. I would rather read about an ass with no illusions than be disappointed at a later date.
I am not sure about cancel culture, but I don’t want to support people who hold terrible views that can be damaging to others. I’ll take an equal-opportunity asshole over a closet racist/sexist/xenophobe/predator any day. (I have stopped eating at several fast food places because their CEOs go on TV and whine about how their million dollar company can’t afford to pay healthcare for their 12 full-time workers countrywide. As I told a friend, whining CEOs make the worst condiment.)
Well to me someone who is just a general asshole is >>>>> someone who’s a bigot so your situation makes sense
Well narrator one was a jerk to YOU and its hard to not take that personally and let it color your experience. For narrator two, you are just consuming his story—and I don’t think you have to identify with or even like the narrator to enjoy a story or find it valuable. In fact, you can learn a lot about human nature and what makes different people tick (and maybe a bit about yourself also!) by reading a memoir by someone you do not identify with or empathize with at all.
Hm. I’d suggest reading Author B’s second book from the library! That way you’re not giving an asshole (or arsehole, as we would say) your hard-earned money. I want to know who Author A is, because like you I don’t like supporting horrible people.
This post highlights one of several reasons that I don’t really like knowing much (if anything) about the personality or characteristics of authors whose books I read.
I’m with Sharon on this one. It’s enough if I enjoy the book (or movie/tvshow/music, ect.) There are very few people whose work I love that I would actually want to meet because I am so afraid of the thing I love being ruined by someone’s personality. Social media has celebrity’s within closer reach than ever…but then you also get to know their political views and personal things that could taint their work for me.
Interesting! I do value authenticity, so I think B would be be someone I might continue to invest time in. But I also don’t like jerks.
Still, for me, knowing is not better than not knowing. There’s so much to read, and I’m often looking for ways to whittle down the stack. Strike books by both A & B.