Unfortunately some of us have such appalling memories we find it hard to keep up and could do with a little assistance from the author to ward off galloping confusion.
The sort of thing that bugs me:
- A chapter that starts without naming the character and you're supposed to know who it is by their physical description on page two.
- Mention of a character's tragic accident sometime in the past, and you're meant to remember what was the tragic accident.
- A character who refers to his "harrowing" divorce. Why was it harrowing? Was that explained somewhere?
- A character with a voluminous back story that's impossible to remember but fifty pages on it becomes crucial to the plot and you're meant to be familiar with it.
- A character called Jane suddenly appears on page 77. Is this a new character or was she mentioned earlier in the book?
How wonderful it would be if on seeing Jane on page 77 I'd think, Ah yes, she's Tim's cousin, she has short cropped hair, she's allergic to peanuts and her roof leaks.
Fat chance.
My book complaint is when the author uses the most common names in recent history for all the characters. If all the friends or sisters are named Lisa, Laura, Ann, and Jane, I will never be able to keep them straight.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I totally agree. Last names can be pretty unmemorable as well.
DeleteI like polic procedural stuff and it is driving me crazy trying to find a new series where the main character does not have some disability, a tangled home life or some traumatic experience which will emerge as the plot goes on. If only Peter Grainger would up his work rate....
ReplyDeleteFly: I quite like it when the protagonist has some sort of human flaw, like Saga Norén in the Bridge, who had Asperger's. I find totally sane, totally perfect characters rather boring.
DeleteWe enjoyed meeting Saga Noren in the TV version. Interesting person.
DeleteLinda Sand
Linda: She was a fascinating character. She seemed to have no idea of the effect she was having on other people.
DeleteI think you must be reading some terrible books!!!
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: You're right. I've read some absurdly long-winded, unfocused and rambling books recently. Why don't the book editors lick them into shape? Isn't that their job?
DeleteMs Scarlet: Re the terrible books, are there any books you'd recommend?
DeleteI have just started Bourneville, by Jonathan Coe - so far, so good!
DeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: That's on my to-buy list but I'm waiting for the paperback! We went to an interview with Jonathan Coe in Belfast last year. He had some interesting things to say.
DeleteI got it for Christmas, otherwise I'd have waited for the paperback as well. He's my favourite author, and I would've loved to have gone to the interview!
DeleteSx
The series I am currently reading has a descriptive cast of characters at the beginning of each book so you can go back and get a reminder of who Jane is. Some of the characters show up in each book which gives me a bit of an anchor for the stories.
ReplyDeleteLinda Sand
Linda: A descriptive list of characters with some of these long-winded novels would be very helpful.
DeleteYou have made some good points here, Nick. As much as I enjoy reading a book, it seems to an "in the moment" thing because months later I find I'm unable to recall a single thing about the characters or sometimes even the plot. But, all of my reading is just for pleasure, so it doesn't really upset me.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: It's not really surprising that we forget the substance of a book as soon as we've read it. The plots and characters of many books are instantly forgettable because they're so predictable and so corny. But we remember more original books like The Hound of the Baskervilles or Oliver Twist.
DeleteVague descriptions and not enough info are both things that bother me when reading a book.
ReplyDeleteMary: Me too. And just not making it clear in dialogue who's speaking.
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