is about an up and coming art critic who is offered (by a rich patron) the chance to interview a reclusive French artist whose entire work may have perished in a fire. The catch is: he must steal one of the paintings in exchange for the opportunity to interview the artist. The deal is made on a handshake.
Now right here, and I'm only on page 35, I am incredulous that Willeford can make me believe this rising art critic is willing to steal a painting for the sake of an inteview. In many books, I would stop reading right there, thinking the whole concept is bullshit and the writer isn't giving us a realistic character. Who would risk imprisonment for an interview at the start of a promising career. But I am reading on, betting Willeford will pull it off. He'll find a way to make this credible. He's playing with the reader. I think this because I have read four of his books I trust him and his ability by now.
Do you ever put a book down because the concept or setup doesn't seem plausible or do you usually assume the writer will make it work by the end? Do you ever write your way into such a quagmire?
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11 comments:
Willeford is one of my favs. Yeah, he has the skill to make you believe and it all great story telling.
As to the question, yes. There are several books that I just can't suspend my ability to believe that things are possible.
As for writing...everyday.LOL
If anyone can pull if off...
And TV shows, that set up this ludicrous premise and expect us to sit around and watch them twist it into something entirely different from what they first presented.
I only stop reading if I get bored. I haven't had that "Oh, come on!" moment in any books I can remember.
Wait - in the otherwise excellent CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE by Don Winslow, there's a moment when a key character turns out to be another key character's sister. Oh, come on!
I actually also felt like this at two points in CHRISTINE FALLS but good writing carried me through.
Writers whose work had defeated me thus: J. E. "Jerry" Pournelle, Ben Bova (but only his juveniles so far), Paul Fairman, Robert Heinlein. I seem to find this kind of nonsense in more sf than in CF, clearly. Though Donald Westlake's ANARCHAOS would've thus, if I hadn't decided to finish it just to see what he would do with this idiocy...not much. Notable that it's his most message-driven sf novel, and it was published under his Curt Clark pseudonym (which to be fair he used on at least one good fantasy story, as well, "Nackles").
I would imagine SF writers have to be bolder in their premises than CF. Haven't read much of it sorry to say.
SF writers aren't required, however, to lie outrageously about how people act, even in extreme circumstances. Heinlein particularly from the early '60s onward, was hoping, successfully, to present for publication fantasies of people unquestioningly listening to and obeying analogs of RAH himself. ANTHEM and all the other Ayn Rand work I've attempted has similarly stymied me.
The CAUSE, I guess, whatever it is, doesn't produce great literature.
I'm with Graham, if I am bored the book is put down and never picked up again.
sometimes I don't even realize that I just dropped it cold.
Terrie
I'd rather be surprised and intrigued by something I haven't seen before in a book, as opposed to bored by something I haven't seen before. However, I do find myself getting frustrated with certain crime-based TV shows that have a completely convoluted, implausable premise - crazy plot twists for the sake of crazy plot twists that were not set up during a particular episode.
I picked up SIDE SWIPE because you had talked it up here, but I only read a few pages before stopping. Maybe it's because I live here in FL that FL based mysteries hold no interest for me, but I also felt the premise was something I'd seen a thousand times before.
Maybe the only original thing anyone can really muster, especially in genre, is a distinct voice and creating a unique character.
Amazing how many books we don't finish. I can't remember if that was true twenty years ago or not. But it was such a different world then.
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