tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post5728179776688783784..comments2024-01-13T21:31:23.388-05:00Comments on Reading While White: Reviewing While White: First ManReading While Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07807138877345669931noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-78162500207673553702015-10-16T10:20:31.964-04:002015-10-16T10:20:31.964-04:00I remember the disclaimer John Green wrote in his ...I remember the disclaimer John Green wrote in his author's note for THE FAULTY IN OUR STARS, reminding readers that the book was a work of fiction" "Neither novels or their readers benefit from attempts to divine whether any facts hide in the story."<br /><br />At the time I read the book, I found this disclaimer odd, and a bit arrogant perhaps. I wasn't sure what the purpose was. Since the story was inspired by a real teenage girl, perhaps he was reinforcing that the book wasn't about her. Or perhaps he didn't want critics to question the fact that he made up the drug that was used in his main character's cancer treatment.<br /><br />I don't want to derail this into a discussion of John Green and TFIOS. I am just using it as another example of a fiction writer who feels it necessary to tell readers that fiction is made up. <br /><br />And does it make a difference when the "made-up" parts relate to a real culture that the author doesn't know first-hand? Is the author saying, "I have done my research but the facts don't really work in my piece of fiction, so I am changing some of them." K T Horninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04505891463218329510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-57620701292365040172015-10-16T09:09:13.692-04:002015-10-16T09:09:13.692-04:00Thanks for your comment, Debbie; and in reference ...Thanks for your comment, Debbie; and in reference to that second paragraph (referring to my second reading), I feel like one of the issues many people in the children's book world is that we read too damn many books! Especially once it gets into the awards season, when you're trying to keep up with the buzz, your readings become more and more surface level. So I worry that otherwise intelligent and careful readers gloss over / zone out on things that would set off alarm bells in closer reading situations. So what it probably sounds like I'm saying is, hey, don't read so many books! But what I'm really trying to say is: slow your reading down, be aware of what you're reading, and don't hesitate to question the buzz. (Especially directing this at White readers who, as you said, Debbie, have been conditioned to overlook these microaggressions toward people of color and First/Native Nations.)<br /><br />As to your last few paragraphs, I hadn't looked at it the way you presented it, but I have to admit: in most cases I've seen, you're right. It does seem like it's almost a preemptive strike against critics' questions, but I wonder if it is more a case of authors of fiction being uncomfortable/lacking confidence in their ability to write nonfiction. I'm not a writer, so I don't know, but I can tell you that I've heard Candy Fleming talk about this, and she says something along the lines of NF being harder because you can't just make up a quote, or conveniently fix a problem... you have to use actual events and find a way to frame them in a manner that will capture the interest of readers. (If you're reading this, Candy... sorry if I completely butchered your words.) So perhaps many authors see these fictionalized versions of NF as an easier way to disseminate what, in many cases, is a piece of history that is completely worthwhile. I know this sounds like I'm making excuses for authors, which is not my intention; I'm just thinking "aloud" here.Sam Bloomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12225131033978509934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-35870388573623272522015-10-16T06:56:57.468-04:002015-10-16T06:56:57.468-04:00On twitter, I said that Sam's review lifted my...On twitter, I said that Sam's review lifted my spirits. Here, I'll elaborate on why.<br /><br />Sam says that he read FIRST MAN a second time and questioned his own first reading. That was the first moment. I leaned in towards my screen. And then the questions he posed! I was elated.<br /><br />In American society, we're so engrained with a way of thinking about Native Americans... a way shaped by writing that misrepresents Native cultures so badly, that we don't even notice microaggressions (like the civilized Indians in THE HIRED GIRL or the "Indian squaw" in PICTURE ME GONE), and we accept those misrepresentations as true, such that we aren't able to pose the questions Sam poses in a book in which Native people are a significant part of the story. <br /><br />After reading Sam's review, I looked around to see other reviews. I'm seeing places where people say Schwartz has taken liberties with facts, but none that say anything about the problems Sam points out. With the respect being accorded to Reading While White by key people in the industry, I hope others read Sam's review and do what he did: question your emotional response, and then question the content. (I don't have answers for those questions. Finding them takes a long time, even when you have the resources.)<br /><br />I don't have the book itself but am able to see parts of it online. I have a question for anyone who reviews and studies books.<br /><br />At the top of the Chronology page are these words "First Man: Reimagining Matthew Henson is a literary retelling of Matthew Henson's life. Not all aspects of the graphic account are historically accurate." In Susan Cooper's GHOST HAWK, she has a disclaimer that says her book is a work of fantasy. In Karen Healey's afterword for GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD, she says the story in her book is not a "genuine" (I think she means authentic) Maori legend and goes on to describe how she "altered or extrapolated" from her sources. <br /><br />My question has to do with these disclaimers. Is this a new thing in kid/YA lit? Or have I not noticed them before. If they've been there all along, what kinds of books are they in? Are there other examples? <br /><br />I read these disclaimers as a way of saying the writers aren't accountable for what they've written. It seems a new way of saying "But it's fiction" (so go away, you critic, you!). Those disclaimers aren't really for the kids who read the books. They're for us critics, and for teachers, perhaps. Rather than work towards better representations, they strike me as a notice that the power structure of publishing is going to go on doing what it has always done with misrepresentations. <br /> <br />Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-66734878891008797482015-10-15T22:42:10.419-04:002015-10-15T22:42:10.419-04:00Thanks for the provocative review, Sam. I would r...Thanks for the provocative review, Sam. I would really like the answers to any of the questions you posted in the last paragraph. <br /><br />Did the Inuit really admire Henson enough to trust him with the knowledge of those same stones? <br /><br />Was there really a “shaman” who jumped (or was pushed) off that cliff? <br /><br />Do the Inuit really believe in “Tahnusuk,” the devil that is referenced repeatedly by the “Inuit storyteller voice”? <br /><br />Did the Native Greenlanders really live in tipis, as Schwartz depicts here? <br /><br />I would really appreciate answers to any of these questions, but even more, I appreciate that you are asking them. <br /><br />K T Horninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04505891463218329510noreply@blogger.com