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And all this makes me feel a bit guilty. I mean, in films and TV programmes you know when something sad is coming along, because the music goes all 'dahhhh...daaahhhh...dahhhhhhhhahhhhh', so you've had the signal that the news is going to be bad and everyone's going to come over all teary, and then there's a cut and it's six weeks later and there's a single rose blooming and everyone is all brave and stoic and everything, but we don't get that luxury in books...
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| Come on, admit it, you were traumatised for life, weren't you? |
...where, like in real life, sad things come out of nowhere. They knock our legs out from under us, and then we just have to live through them, day by day, and we can't even do the 'cutaway to six weeks later'.
Which is all wrong. Why should films get all the 'warning music' and then the bonus 'two years later' thing, when life and books make us go through horrible things in slow motion? Not all books, I suppose, in fiction we have the 'cutaway' option, but I always feel that's cheating a bit. If you can't do it in real life - my imaginary T shirt slogan reads - then you shouldn't be allowed to do it in books. Which is a bit of a problem for people writing science fiction, I suppose. Or fantasy. All right, let's amend the slogan. 'IF YOU CAN'T DO IT IN REAL LIFE (EXCEPT FOR WHERE IT MAY BE POSSIBLE EITHER IN THE FUTURE OR IN ANOTHER REALITY (FURTHER EXCEPTING THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE OR IMPRACTICAL)) THEN YOU SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO DO IT IN BOOKS'. And you are going to need a fairly large chest to carry that one off, but there you go.
Where was I? Oh yes. Books that make people cry. I never set out to write a book that would make people cry, honestly. I know it's an emotional book, but the only thing about it that ever made me emotional during the writing process was the poem at the end, which is Christina Rosetti's 'Remember', which always makes me cry for no very good reason. For the record, other things that make me cry are: the end scene of The Incredible Journey, Snow Patrol's version of Run (and only that version), and the advert for the Halifax where the bloke leaves his scarf on a bus. And that's pretty much it, because I am Hard.
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| Well, yes, obviously abandoned puppies and kittens and ill treated animals, but that's not just me, is it? IS IT? |
4 comments:
I think I'm gonna have to borrow someone's kindle & buy this before waiting for the paperback, as I almost can't stand not knowing what's going on ......
Definitely take it as a compliment. I don't cry easily, so when a book can make me cry the author has done a good job of pouring some true emotion into the story and making me feel vested in the characters.
It's a great book. Really enjoyed it, and to be honest, although I wanted to know what happened next, I did take a couple of days out at one point, thinking off and on about it - what was going on? What did I hope would happen? What was a scared might happen? Which shows I cared about the characters. No floods of tears (although I've had a lump in my throat several times over the years, the only time I've been stopped in my tracks was the first time I tried to read aloud, to my young son, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe scene where the celebrating animals got turned to stone by the White Witch). So I think you've hit the right level of getting the readers involved and caring. And it still has lots of your lovely wryly humorous turn of phrase which marks your books out from so much "romantic" fiction.
I might have cried a little while reading your book...
Leo Marks' poem 'This life that I have' always makes me cry. And pretty much any ad to do with kids. I used to be hard. Now I'm all soft and pliable (in more ways than one). I blame motherhood.
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