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overrated novelists

JK Rowling

Hashshashin

I'd argue that it does. After all, without his parents Eragon might never have been published at all, and even if another publisher had taken it on, it would never have recieved the initial level of publicity that his parent's provided it with.

I'm not suggesting that he would have been as successful if it hadn't been published by his parents. I agree that there's a good chance it wouldn't have been published at all. But even with the initial publicity there was no reason to believe that the book would be as successful as it has been. Giving a book good publicity doesn't guarantee a million sales six months after the book is first published.

Reply 82

..Northern Soul

1

JK Rowling isn't over rated becuase isn't really rated.
She writes good books, but its only a childs novel.

How does anyone know what she could actually write?? She hasnt really written a so called "serious novel". Its unfair to say shes overrated.

Shakespeare is my answer even if hes not contemporay or even a novelist.

Reply 83

Hashshashin

13

harr

Giving a book good publicity doesn't guarantee a million sales six months after the book is first published.

Yeah, fair point! :smile:

Reply 84

the_alba

OP

12

Oh, the neggers who never leave their names! TSR is so tarnished by them. Whoever 'totally disapproves' of my opinions on this thread, it's a shame you couldn't have said so on here instead, and said why you don't approve, so we could have an interesting debate.

Reply 85

Hashshashin

13

wesetters

I never saw any particular publicity for the first book to be honest...

I believe that it recieved much heavier publicity in America than it did in the UK, although your point is still valid.

Reply 86

KingoftheNazgul

Dan Brown...a.k.a. inaccurate, badly written fiction disguised as fact. The only intelligent thing about this man is his sheer commercial genius...How in God's name does he manage to shift so many copies of this codswallop???!!!

J. D. Salinger...important for his time but now that we actually have a concept of a teenager, the impact of Catch 22 isn't quite the same.

Angela Levy...People like Small Island because of the subject matter; it actually isn't a particularly well-written or realistic book.

As for J. K. Rowling, the fact that she needs to use uppercase to express anger probably demonstrates that she isn't a great writer but to be honest the reason we still read them is because secretly we still haven't given up hope of a hogwarts admission letter arriving on the doormat one day!

Reply 87

Epicurus

15

miss_world

Hardly contemporary is it though? :p:

About Ian McEwan: I've read Atonement and Enduring Love and I did quite enjoy them. Well Atonement anyway. The first chapter of Enduring Love is really good but it does go a bit downhill from there. Martin Amis is complete BS though. Tried to read Money but failed. Have come to the conclusion that his work is unreadable crap.

You have to get into money. As in 100 pages in and it starts to get better or you get used to/comfortable with his style. I felt satisfied after i'd read it but it did seem a chore on occasions.

Reply 88

Epicurus

15

KingoftheNazgul

J. D. Salinger...important for his time but now that we actually have a concept of a teenager, the impact of Catch 22 isn't quite the same.

I think you've got your authors mixed up. Catch 22 was by heller. Maybe it is the Catcher in The Rye you're talking about?

Reply 89

Epicurus

15

I think Salman Rushdie is very overrated too. Never got into Midnights Children which won the booker prize ans was the booker of bookers.

Reply 90

KingoftheNazgul

Oh yeah Catcher in the Rye sorry!!! That rather killed the impact of my post! I was just thinking that people often say Catch 22 is overrated but once you get into it it's hilarious, despite Joseph Heller's immense arrogance.

The thing I didn't like about Atonement was that I didn't really feel like she atoned enough for the book to be deserving of the title...slightly disappointing!!! And also McEwan does have a tendency to descend into soft porn sometimes... :s-smilie:

Although I did like Saturday...it was a bit overresearched though for us lesser completely non-scientific mortals ("huh frontal lobe"...whaaaaa?)

Reply 91

KingoftheNazgul

I agree about Salman Rushdie...I think it's more because of the political impact of his books than the actual writing itself that makes people rave about him.

Sebastian Faulks is another pet hate...Birdsong, apart from the war scenes which were really well portrayed, was utter crap; he researches his novels so badly!!! I mean at the end, the granddaughter arrives at a monument to the Somme and acts all surprised at the fact that there were so many who were just never found but there's a whacking great legend saying "THE LOST FROM THE SOMME" on top of it...garrrr

Reply 92

IB-more

the_alba

3) Jonathan Safran Foer

Sorry to take it all the way back to the OP, but I gotta say that I LOVED Everything Is Illuminated. I've had nine years of Jewish education, and not once have I ever found a book that protrays shtetl live in such a vivid way. I love the mysticism, the interplay between generations, the magic that Foer brings to the past he tries to illuminate it. Also, it's really hard to develop such an interesting, dynamic character when trying to write as if he's barely learned English. I loved it.

If I read another Nicholas Sparks book, I might just throw up.

Reply 93

Spica P.

Leftite

JK Rowling isn't over rated becuase isn't really rated.
She writes good books, but its only a childs novel.

How does anyone know what she could actually write?? She hasnt really written a so called "serious novel". Its unfair to say shes overrated.

I love JK Rowling and her works, thus I might be biased here... but I don't think Harry Potter is strictly for children and is not engaging and thought-provoking enough for adults. Have you read any of the books and if yes, which one? The first one, the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, does read like a simple kiddie novel, I must admit, but what do you expect? Harry is still 11. Try comparing it with, say, book 5 or book 6, or even book 7 if it's been released later on... if you care to do so... then see the huge difference. It's all death and war everywhere. Even book 5 and book 6 have sad endings.

Reply 94

ukebert

13

For me though 5 and 6 weren't as good as 3. I think 3 was the best probably. She is a great storyteller though.

Reply 95

Angelil

19

So I suppose that's a different question: is a good storyteller different to a good novelist? And if so, what's the difference?

Reply 96

HMSChocolate

13

Angelil

So I suppose that's a different question: is a good storyteller different to a good novelist? And if so, what's the difference?

good point. I think J. K. Rowling is popular because her story is popular. It's a magical story that most people if not everyone to some extent wish could be true. there isn't anything spectacular in her writing but the story she'd created is wonderful.

Reply 97

the_alba

OP

12

zackinbaltimore

Sorry to take it all the way back to the OP, but I gotta say that I LOVED Everything Is Illuminated. I've had nine years of Jewish education, and not once have I ever found a book that protrays shtetl live in such a vivid way. I love the mysticism, the interplay between generations, the magic that Foer brings to the past he tries to illuminate it. Also, it's really hard to develop such an interesting, dynamic character when trying to write as if he's barely learned English. I loved it.

Fair enough. I agree the flawed English of the protagonist's guide WAS very skilfully done, especially the where the 'blind' granddad's dog has to wear a guide-dog shirt, on which they write 'Officious seeing-eye bitch'. Sadly, she 'masticates' half of the shirt, until it just reads 'Officious bitch' :biggrin:

I didn't like Extremely Loud... much at all. I found it really gimmicky, as I've also found shorter writings of his. I'm sure he has talent, but I don't like the way the press hype him up to be a genius, when really he's just like any other young novelist learning his craft and experimenting. I think media attention like that is bad for young writers, and can make them dangerously arrogant, which is not good for their writing.

Reply 98

hang_your_heart

1

Angelil

I also think Jodie Picoult is massively overrated. Formulaic, mediocre, populist rubbish.

Indeed. Her writing style is predictable and her endings are always completely flat. I find it really frustrating how all her characters are somehow "deeper" than everyone else around them.

Reply 99

TheBellJar

1

By far Zadie Smith. Her style is just dull.

overrated novelists

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