Maybe I was influenced by that episode of the IT Crowd with the cannibal, but I strongly dislike when someone mentions there is a twist while recommending a book (or film!). I feel like it is a spoiler!
Am I alone in thinking this? I feel like I am, because I often see people recommending books and saying, “the twist in the middle is great!” – okay, but now I’m going to be reading the book trying to anticipate the twist????? 🙁
I feel similar with people saying things like “the ending was so devastating” too. I just feel it slightly alters how I’ll read the book. Maybe I’m just someone who likes to go in completely blind and other people don’t mind?
Do you think saying there is a twist is a spoiler, or do you not mind? 🙂
by yakisobagurl
12 Comments
Is there a great story that doesn’t have a twist?
Not. A “twist” is pretty much a given in any work of fiction. A story without a twist is a boring and predictable affair.
Yes, I would count that as a spoiler personally
IMO yes. Knowing there’s a twist in a book/movie completely changes how I read/watch it. Spend the entire time looking for clues and trying to predict
I think it is a trivial detail. Reading is a rather immersive experience that isn’t comprises of just the twist or the ending, but the overall flow of the story, the prose, the foreshadowing (if necessary), the characters, etc. Just several small pieces of a puzzle.
My view is probably influenced by the fact that I never actively try to “solve” or “figure out” the answers even in mystery thrillers. I feel that ruins the experience for me, I let the author guide me.
Yes, 100%
I agree, saying there’s a twist is a huge spoiler
I don’t think saying there’s a twist is a spoiler. And how do you go in to a book “completely blind”? Do you not read the synopsis either?
Yup. The entire point of a twist is that you don’t expect it.
I would say no, and that Roy is being over the top about a very minor thing in that episode, but full disclosure I think an awful lot of what the greater internet calls a spoiler isn’t.
Of course it is. If you’re discussing the content of the book, particularly things that aren’t revealed until later, that’s a spoiler.
Don’t do it. It inevitably ruins the twist. And book reviewers that so that are awful.