Reading a book has to be a novel experience. We are constantly reminded of reading a piece of work in complete isolation, without linking it to the writer's personal history.
Don't you think it is extremely difficult to abide by this rule? How can you not be intimidated by the writer? An image is immediately conjured up our minds when we are speaking of a particular author. For example: J.K Rowling- most of us breath the Harry Potter series. When she comes up with a completely new novel, a story line that is poles apart from what she used to write, we end up criticizing her in a bad way. Are we devoiding her of exploring different genres of literature? Of providing her readers/fans with a different world of her's? Can we sour our relationship/bond with her because of this?
Readers play a crucial role in our beloved author's life. The bond is personal and intimate. Every writer speaks differently to his/her reader differently through their piece of writing. Imagine, if tomorrow George Martin comes up with a romance novel or if Dan Brown writes a novel which is not historical or a suspense thriller, what would our reaction be? Their fans would sure as hell be outraged.
Do you realize what we are doing here? We are denying the writer a chance- a chance to write something different, new, a chance to explore, and take risks. Is it fair? Living in a digitally advanced generation, a tweet or a post on Facebook can affect the reading experience of million readers.
There have been long intellectual debates on whether one should read a novel in isolation, with no preconceived notion about the author. Instead, let's ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing? Should we be so critical of the author? Can't we give them a chance to try out something new? Are we that cruel?
Let me know what you think about this. I am open to any kind of views or an experience that you would like to share.
Happy Reading until my next post!
