I’ll start: Ernest Hemingway.

I have a ton of respect for him, he influenced so many writers and the craft of writing, and he lived a fascinating life. But I just find his books to be so damned dry. I love simplicity but I just feel like there’s no voice or soul in any of his books. There’s experiences but I don’t feel any passion or something that moves my heart. I guess his topics just aren’t for me.

What about all of you?

  • Narge1@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Shirley Jackson. I want to like her stuff. I’ve read Haunting of Hill House twice, hoping I missed something the first time, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and I just didn’t get them. I’m a huge horror fan and I respect what she’s done for the genre and for women in the genre, but other than The Lottery, her writing just doesn’t do anything for me.

    • twoheadedghost@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      The Haunting of Hill House has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. The rest…eh. Five years later and I’m still shocked by how little I cared for the book. Come to think of it, this might a case where the 60s film adaptation is vastly superior than the book.

      • Narge1@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        The opening paragraph is amazing and super creepy. She’s clearly a great writer which is why it’s disappointing that her stuff doesn’t click with me. I agree, the movie is somehow much better even though the plot sticks very closely to the book.

    • twoheadedghost@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      The Haunting of Hill House has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. The rest…eh. Five years later and I’m still shocked by how little I cared for the book. Come to think of it, this might a case where the 60s film adaptation is vastly superior than the book.

    • waterboy1321@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, as a fan of hers, I think she shouldn’t really be thought of as a horror writer. Even psychological thriller is a misattribution. Her novels usually feel like personal dramas that are a bit intense.

      Gothic maybe. But not horror.

    • waterboy1321@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, as a fan of hers, I think she shouldn’t really be thought of as a horror writer. Even psychological thriller is a misattribution. Her novels usually feel like personal dramas that are a bit intense.

      Gothic maybe. But not horror.