Reading Dealbreakers
Modern Mrs. Darcy started a fun conversation on Instagram: What are your reading dealbreakers? As in, if the book contains X, you will stop reading it. She states her own dealbreaker and points out that there are also exceptions to her personal rule. Really good writing can help you through a dealbreaker topic.
Infertility as a plot point in my dealbreaker. I hate it when I start a mystery and there is an infertile woman because I know that she’s going to turn out to be portrayed as desperate due to her desire to have a child. Desperate enough to muuuuuuuurder. By the way, the infertile woman is ALWAYS the murderer. Or the victim. She’s never the sassy friend nextdoor who needs to nip out to give herself a Follistim injection but ultimately has nothing to do with the murder.
What are your reading dealbreakers?
12 comments
Severe power imbalance. Like teacher/student, 30 year old+18 year old. I give a pass on some power imbalances in historicals like master/governess or master/head housekeeper- because those positions usually do have some power in the relationship, but master/housemaid is usually a hard pass. Another hard pass for me is the kidnapping to prove my love trope. And it’s not just male kidnapping the woman. I once read a book where the woman kidnapped the guy (to prevent him from marrying the woman woman) and I regretted not immediately throwing it against the wall at that moment. I didn’t recognize it immediately as a non-starter plot. I’m smarter now.
I thought I had a post on my blog post ranting about infertile representation in the media, but I think I wrote it and never posted it. I alluded to it in a post about incels and how my incel friends resents how incels are portrayed in the popular media (TV shows, movies etc) as misogynistic spree killers and psychopaths and how, as an infertile woman who is also portrayed in popular media psychopath and kidnapper, and generally unworthy crazy person willing to break any law to get what I want, even though I clearly don’t deserve it, I had not a ton of sympathy for his position. (sorry for that sentence.)
Same. The infertile woman is always a looney and I hate it. Also when women (or I suppose men) are described by specific brands of clothing they are wearing. I just stopped a book that described the main character who “liked nice things – her boots were blah blah blah and her jeans were all blah blah blah.” I can’t get into that and it irritates me. No judgement for wearing expensive clothes. I just don’t care.
I don’t really have deal breakers, although lately, I don’t really want to read about teenagers. That cuts out a significant portion of books, since I like YA and romance. Sigh. I guess my dealbreaker is the inability to sustain my attention, once I’ve made a concerted effort to try to continue. (Some books grab me. Some require effort. Others just can’t ever get there.)
You should write a mystery with the infertile woman as red herring! It would be really cool to make it so dark and evil that no one can help but blame the poor crazy infertile woman, only to find out that she’s completely innocent because she was sneaking off to have a scan at the time the murder occurred. However…I don’t really see you writing dark and evil. Maybe you could advise someone else? Collaborate?
Oh boy, if I had “infertility as a plot point” as a deal breaker, I would’ve had to quit at least 10-12 books just over the past few years. This seems to be a frequent theme in literature, esp. in books written by female authors.
I don’t know that I have any dealbreakers with books like MMD describes. I won’t watch movies where dogs get killed, though. 🙂
Reading deal breakers?
Antisemitism and antisemitic slurs. Because of personal baggage.
Other than that… not sure. I drop books quite a bit – sometimes because the writing is meh, sometimes because it doesn’t suit my mood. I try to avoid super-depressing books and I generally dislike tear-jerkers. But I wouldn’t call that deal-breaking…
Natka,
I was actually thinking about this recently. I won’t make you read my post about it (but you can if you want to, it’s here: https://hopelessinfertile.wordpress.com/2021/07/02/reading-into-the-next-generation-this-is-not-about-critical-race-theory/) but one of my subpoints was talking about antisemitism in books and like the difference between Trilby and say Oliver Twist. I’ve read Oliver Twist and was able to enjoy it even though it’s steeped deeply in antisemitism and antisemitic tropes, but Trilby, as many times as I’ve tried, I’ve never made it past the 2nd chapter because it’s so antisemitic. I’ve never been able to quite figure out what makes Dickens the antisemite so much more readable than du Maurier for me? So antisemitism isn’t a hard pass for me, but then sometimes it is because it’s so overwhelming.
That’s really interesting – I read Oliver Twist as a kid and disliked it but never picked up on antisemetism. May be it was lost in translation… (I read it in Russian)
I have never read du Maurier.
I’ve stopped reading books for a lot of different reasons. I stopped reading a Michael Chabon novel because it was about a lecturer who was getting into a relationship with a student. I could see where it was going, and just could not be bothered with a middle-aged man’s fantasies. lol
I agree with the infertility thing – I’ll give it a go, but if it is heading into “crazy infertiles” territory, that’s it for me. Antisemitism, racism, sexism, sizeism, ageism, homophobia, Islamophobia, all the isms/phobias – all deal-breakers if they are gratuitous or an innate part of the writer’s viewpoint. But they’re okay if they are an integral part of the story (eg sexism in Handmaid’s Tale) and are not lauded or accepted, but teach me something.
Natka,
This is the introduction to Fagin in the English:
The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt. There was a deal table before the fire: upon which were a candle, stuck in a ginger-beer bottle, two or three pewter pots, a loaf and butter, and a plate. In a frying-pan, which was on the fire, and which was secured to the mantelshelf by a string, some sausages were cooking; and standing over them, with a toasting-fork in his hand, was a very old shrivelled Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair. He was dressed in a greasy flannel gown, with his throat bare; and seemed to be dividing his attention between the frying-pan and the clothes-horse, over which a great number of silk handkerchiefs were hanging. Several rough beds made of old sacks, were huddled side by side on the floor. Seated round the table were four or five boys, none older than the Dodger, smoking long clay pipes, and drinking spirits with the air of middle-aged men. These all crowded about their associate as he whispered a few words to the Jew; and then turned round and grinned at Oliver. So did the Jew himself, toasting-fork in hand.
“This is him, Fagin,” said Jack Dawkins; “my friend Oliver Twist.”
The Jew grinned; and, making a low obeisance to Oliver, took him by the hand, and hoped he should have the honour of his intimate acquaintance. Upon this, the young gentleman with the pipes came round him, and shook both his hands very hard—especially the one in which he held his little bundle. One young gentleman was very anxious to hang up his cap for him; and another was so obliging as to put his hands in his pockets, in order that, as he was very tired, he might not have the trouble of emptying them, himself, when he went to bed. These civilities would probably be extended much farther, but for a liberal exercise of the Jew’s toasting-fork on the heads and shoulders of the affectionate youths who offered them.
“We are very glad to see you, Oliver, very,” said the Jew. “Dodger, take off the sausages; and draw a tub near the fire for Oliver. Ah, you’re a-staring at the pocket-handkerchiefs! eh, my dear. There are a good many of ’em, ain’t there? We’ve just looked ’em out, ready for the wash; that’s all, Oliver; that’s all. Ha! ha! ha!”
The latter part of this speech, was hailed by a boisterous shout from all the hopeful pupils of the merry old gentleman. In the midst of which they went to supper.
Oliver ate his share, and the Jew then mixed him a glass of hot gin-and-water: telling him he must drink it off directly, because another gentleman wanted the tumbler. Oliver did as he was desired. Immediately afterwards he felt himself gently lifted on to one of the sacks; and then he sunk into a deep sleep.
I did a word count and Fagin appears 309 times in the text (including TOC). Jew appears 323 times. By contrast the word “gentleman” which is used both conversationally and descriptively, to refer to multiple people appears 338 times.
4 of the references are two two different Jews. One is random peddler who buys (or is given) Oliver’s old clothes.
the other 2…well…:
These words, in plain English, conveyed an injunction to ring the bell. It was answered by another Jew: younger than Fagin, but nearly as vile and repulsive in appearance.
Bill Sikes merely pointed to the empty measure. The Jew, perfectly understanding the hint, retired to fill it: previously exchanging a remarkable look with Fagin, who raised his eyes for an instant, as if in expectation of it, and shook his head in reply; so slightly that the action would have been almost imperceptible to an observant third person. It was lost upon Sikes, who was stooping at the moment to tie the boot-lace which the dog had torn. Possibly, if he had observed the brief interchange of signals, he might have thought that it boded no good to him.
Hopeless Infertile,
Oh my… OK, I am not touching Dickens. Ever.
(I’ve only ever read Oliver Twist [in Russian, and there must have been some creative translation of the word Jew there] and Hard Times).
I don’t think I am brave enough to read that with my kids.
Deal breaker….
I started reading one for a book club a couple months ago where the first scene being set up was a power difference of YA romance variety. It was also not the best writing. I think I made it 3 pages before I put it down and returned it the next day. I’m not gonna read horror or things that would be triggering of trauma to me. The world is a hard enough place.
I’m not sure I have any real deal-breakers. I very rarely give up on a book ( but then, I’m a little picky about what I read in the first place…). The infertile woman as the pathetic one everyone feels sorry for, or as the villain, does really bug me, though — as does the “miracle pregnancy/baby” storyline or ending. SO overdone!!