Wednesday, December 13, 2017

men, women and the 'best' novelists

Novelist John Boyne, a guy I've never heard of, makes a pretty good case:
I think women are better novelists than men.
There, I’ve said it. While it’s obviously an enormous generalisation, it’s no more ludicrous than some half-wit proudly claiming never to read books by women.
It's cheeky, of course, but that's what newspaper essays are paid to be. And there's enough truth in Boyne's observations to make them worth a reprise.

Of course a little caution is warranted: I'm not sure how many people actually read any more.

3 comments:

  1. I used to read a lot more than I do now. I just have trouble remembering the previous paragraph these days. But as to female writers, they have been at it a while.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Women_writers_by_historical_period

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  2. "I'm not sure how many people actually read any more."

    It's a knowable unknown. I think Amazon alone can give a decent idea, so just add on Barnes and Nobles, Apple's iBook and Google's Books.

    Simply because we're moving to eBooks from paper, doesn't mean fewer people are reading.

    Probably need to visit the library, go to cafe's and ride public transportation to see those few still reading paper books and see folks reading Kindles, Nooks, and who knows what on their iPads and Android Tablets.

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  3. As to who writes better novels, that sexist line of thinking should be put to bed quickly.

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