Raise your hands if you are sick of the current dystopian literature trend!!!
I just finished the second book in a dystopian series and I am resolved to give. it. a. rest.
It's all basically the same story at this point.
You know this right?
There's the strong female lead.
There's the first boy she falls in love with and we like.
Then life happens and ... Oh no! Second boy! We like him too!
There's strong "this all happened because people murdered the environment!" messages.
There's a large city/governing body that take away free agency. Female protagonist becomes the pivotal figure in the war which brings the choices back! Hurrah!
There's glimpses of originality that were enough to get the books published (And sold! let's not forget that dystopian literature is so "IN!") but the glimpses quickly dissipate and suddenly we're thinking "Wait a second... haven't I already read this exact. same. story... with the exact. same. themes. like TWICE this year?!?"
Sound familiar?
I have read basically the same series 3 times now.
I liked The Hunger Games.
I think we could point to it as the original that is spawning all of these cheap knock offs.
I am not lumping that series in with it's successors.
It had very specific issues it dealt with (my favorite surrounded violence in media and entertainment). They developed throughout the series and culminated in a poignant ending. Wonderful.
For me, while it didn't surpass them, it certainly echoed the classics I've read:
Farenheit 451. Animal Farm. Brave New World. 1984. And even some from Children's Lit (I would call "The Giver," a dystopia, wouldn't you?)
They too had very specific "there's a problem with THIS... and if we don't fix it: THIS my friends... is what our great grandchildren have to look forward to." (More or less. I'm clearly generalizing here... stay with me.)
Animal Farm isn't set in the future but it is a fascinating allegory that again, highlights a distinct problem: corruption in "righteous," revolutionary leadership. That's fascinating stuff people!
What do these new books have to offer? Nothing! It's like the point of these stories is an afterthought almost. They are simply pedaling their stories to the mindless masses seeking a cheap thrill. They don't really care!
AND ANOTHER THING! The Hunger Games was truly unique in that the author had a clear point she wanted to make, and she magically wrote it in such a way that the reader, while getting the point, also happened to be highly entertained. I can tell you the names of the characters in the Hunger Games. They mattered to me. There was a love story, a thrilling plot, etc.
I personally didn't get that in the classics. With them I am much more able to recall the idea of the book rather than the specifics.
I feel like the Hunger Games has created this new standard that we can't just write a solid piece of literature about problems we see in the world... we have to package it in a way that will sell like crazy and that people will read just for the fun of it.
Corey said I shouldn't be surprised. When a book makes it big there are inevitable knock offs to follow. Or as Corey put it "Everybody and their mom wrote a Vampire book after Twilight." The thing is, people recognize those for what they are, but these regurgitated dystopian novels are hugely popular!
I am giving myself some new rules:
1) No newly penned dystopias for at least 3 years, and if I decide to read one it will be well researched before I open it's pages. Any story lines following a strong female lead which incorporate a love triangle will make me immediately skeptical. I will not read the same series a fourth time!
2) No classic dystopias for at least 1 year.
Clearly, I need a break.
Wow. That "small rant," was pretty large.
If you read the whole thing you are truly a real friend! Whether or not this post gets read though is beside the point.
I wasted the day with a crappy book and felt cheated.
But I feel better now.
Fun stories of darling boys coming soon!
This grumpy lady is going to bed!
I just finished the second book in a dystopian series and I am resolved to give. it. a. rest.
It's all basically the same story at this point.
You know this right?
There's the strong female lead.
There's the first boy she falls in love with and we like.
Then life happens and ... Oh no! Second boy! We like him too!
There's strong "this all happened because people murdered the environment!" messages.
There's a large city/governing body that take away free agency. Female protagonist becomes the pivotal figure in the war which brings the choices back! Hurrah!
There's glimpses of originality that were enough to get the books published (And sold! let's not forget that dystopian literature is so "IN!") but the glimpses quickly dissipate and suddenly we're thinking "Wait a second... haven't I already read this exact. same. story... with the exact. same. themes. like TWICE this year?!?"
Sound familiar?
I have read basically the same series 3 times now.
I liked The Hunger Games.
I think we could point to it as the original that is spawning all of these cheap knock offs.
I am not lumping that series in with it's successors.
It had very specific issues it dealt with (my favorite surrounded violence in media and entertainment). They developed throughout the series and culminated in a poignant ending. Wonderful.
For me, while it didn't surpass them, it certainly echoed the classics I've read:
Farenheit 451. Animal Farm. Brave New World. 1984. And even some from Children's Lit (I would call "The Giver," a dystopia, wouldn't you?)
They too had very specific "there's a problem with THIS... and if we don't fix it: THIS my friends... is what our great grandchildren have to look forward to." (More or less. I'm clearly generalizing here... stay with me.)
Animal Farm isn't set in the future but it is a fascinating allegory that again, highlights a distinct problem: corruption in "righteous," revolutionary leadership. That's fascinating stuff people!
What do these new books have to offer? Nothing! It's like the point of these stories is an afterthought almost. They are simply pedaling their stories to the mindless masses seeking a cheap thrill. They don't really care!
AND ANOTHER THING! The Hunger Games was truly unique in that the author had a clear point she wanted to make, and she magically wrote it in such a way that the reader, while getting the point, also happened to be highly entertained. I can tell you the names of the characters in the Hunger Games. They mattered to me. There was a love story, a thrilling plot, etc.
I personally didn't get that in the classics. With them I am much more able to recall the idea of the book rather than the specifics.
I feel like the Hunger Games has created this new standard that we can't just write a solid piece of literature about problems we see in the world... we have to package it in a way that will sell like crazy and that people will read just for the fun of it.
Corey said I shouldn't be surprised. When a book makes it big there are inevitable knock offs to follow. Or as Corey put it "Everybody and their mom wrote a Vampire book after Twilight." The thing is, people recognize those for what they are, but these regurgitated dystopian novels are hugely popular!
I am giving myself some new rules:
1) No newly penned dystopias for at least 3 years, and if I decide to read one it will be well researched before I open it's pages. Any story lines following a strong female lead which incorporate a love triangle will make me immediately skeptical. I will not read the same series a fourth time!
2) No classic dystopias for at least 1 year.
Clearly, I need a break.
Wow. That "small rant," was pretty large.
If you read the whole thing you are truly a real friend! Whether or not this post gets read though is beside the point.
I wasted the day with a crappy book and felt cheated.
But I feel better now.
Fun stories of darling boys coming soon!
This grumpy lady is going to bed!
6 comments:
I have been missing your blog posts! I feel the same way about the dystopian books (yes, I spelled that wrong and I just don't care). However, I didn't even read the Hunger Games (mostly because I don't do violence...and Michael didn't think I could handle the book either, so he just told me the story:). Although, right now, I'm currently only in the super cheesy department...so reading an actual good book may be a while for me. But just thought you'd like to know that someone is right there with you!
You crack me up! I must be out of the literature loop because I haven't heard of any of the Hunger Games knockoffs. Glad I haven't wasted my time. :)Glad to see you posting again!!!
Haha, I was making a list of some of my reviews for someone the other day and I was like "i should include something hot in YA right now..." searched my archives and found I haven't reviewed ANY YA in ages. What can I say? I only review what I like. Hahaha. That said, I'm going to be reading a YA Dystopia this week. We'll see how it goes! *crossy fingers*
And I always like the first boy more and want the girl to end up with him (I spent many years fearing that I'd meet another guy or Scott would meet another girl and complicate our lives). Don't tell me what happens in Matched, that's my current jogging audiobook.
Don't feel too bad about the rant--I had a similar experience with a book of the same genre a few months ago. The first few chapters sounded a bit too familiar so I had a hard time getting into the story. I was going to plow through it anyway until Neal reminded me of the sunk cost fallacy (which is a really useful decision-making concept, by the way), so I put the book down and ranted away in terms that sound uncannily familiar to your post here. Makes me wonder if we were reading the same series.
True friend here! I not only read the whole rant but agreed with it! Life is too short to waste reading bad books! I am on gathering blue in the giver series and am loving it, but when even teenagers are using the term "dystopian lit" it just might be overdone! Having said that, however, my book review this year is going to be awfully small! Between church stuff and full time work plus some and some pretty clingy kids, I think I've read 2 books this whole year! But I'll take the kids over books any day!
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