It’s a day of deep questions – is there too much violence in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire? Is Margaret Atwood a (gasp) genre writer? And has Twilight madness gone too far and threatened all that is literary? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Is Emily Bronte turning in her grave, or is she a Twilight addict, too?
- Is Margaret Atwood a sci-fi writer? Ursula Le Guin (a master of the genre) says, “Yes!” in her review of Atwood’s latest novel, The Year of the Flood. The book deals with a dystopian world that Le Guin calls “even more depressing” than Orwell’s in 1984. Le Guin praises Atwood for her satirical skills but wishes the latter would embrace her science fiction identity – can’t “literary” and “science fiction” exist in the same sentence? Read more about the debate in Le Guin’s Guardian review.
- Today’s moral dilemma begs the question, how far should a publisher go to re-promote a classic? HarperCollins has repackaged Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights with a Twilight-like cover and stamp proclaiming it “Bella and Edward’s favorite book.” Will teens really pick up a book recommended by their favorite fictitious characters? Or will they see it as the desperate attempt of an oldtimer trying to look cool? Shelf Life opens up the discussion.
- With Catching Fire out this week, NPR talks to Suzanne Collins about her inspiration for the “Hunger Games” series and asks whether the violence is too much for young readers. Given what kids see on TV and in the news, Collins doesn’t think so. The feature also includes an excerpt from the second chapter of Catching Fire, for those of you that haven’t bought it yet.
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