I always found criticism about realism in books fascinating. On one hand, you have 1 star goodreads comments that claim that Jeanette McCurdy’s abuse in her autobiography was too unrealistic. On the other hand, you have self professed psychologists and social workers claiming that the events in A Little Life fit in perfectly with their lived experience.
What you’re willing to believe extends to what you have seen yourself. Another example: A commenter said that they thought Mineko Iwasaki’s daily three hour sleep schedule in Geisha, A life was unrealistically exaggerated, but then you have 70 year old ramen shop workers and hectic actors sleeping even less daily lol.
When I read these types of comments, I think that these people never change their minds on books they instantly deem unrealistic, souring the prose and themes of the book for them. Have you ever changed your mind on an unrealistic book before?
by TheCkh
3 Comments
The only books I’ve disliked for being “unrealistic” were books that touched on things I know a lot about. The books themselves might not have even been realistic fiction, but they incorporated real things badly.
I’m looking at you, Into the Drowning Deep.
In short, no, I don’t think I’ve ever changed my mind.
I only care if a book is well written and interesting, otherwise I would have to never read Milton or Peake or Marquez. I think obsessing over realism is slightly childish, not that the people who do so are childish but that it’s something that you should grow out of.
Yes! I read American Dirt and loved it, thinking it was a memoir or loosely based on someone’s real life experiences. I looked up reviews afterwards because I hadn’t heard anyone talking about it. I was shocked to learn that it was written by a white woman who co-opted and exploited the experiences of Mexican immigrants, was poorly researched, and extremely unrealistic. That soured me on the book and is why I don’t recommend it. There were just too many reviews and articles from people who’d been through experiences like that who said American Dirt was unrealistic, exaggerated, and exploitative of their pain.