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As everyone and her uncle knows, HBO's miniseries of A Game of Thrones starts tomorrow night. The New York Times had a mediocre review of it yesterday that included one of the most ridiculously ill-informed paragraphs it has ever been my misfortune to read, and being me, I decided to reply:
Dear Ms. Bellafante:
I was appalled by your review of HBO's upcoming miniseries "A Game of Thrones." This is not, as you might expect, because of your assessment of the miniseries. I obviously haven't seen it, so for all I know you're spot-on in your critique.
The paragraph that had me choking over my morning coffee was this one toward the end:
"The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half."
Perhaps you haven't met any women who has asked her book club to read a fantasy novel, but that says considerably more about your circle of acquaintances (and your book club) than it does about fantasy readers. I've been reading fantasy and science fiction since I was 13, co-founded the science fiction and fantasy society at Smith College, and regularly attend SF and fantasy conventions. Despite the stereotype of only socially maladjusted boys and young men reading such works, the attendance at conventions is at least half female, including a great many women and girls.
And a lot of these women, perhaps the majority, read fantasy novels. If anything, fantasy is may be more popular among women than straight science fiction, possibly because more men than women train as scientists and engineers. And despite your assertion that "A Game of Thrones" is "boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half," many, many women write fantasy novels, often dealing with serious themes such as gender identity, LGBT relationships, the role of religion, and discrimination against women cleverly cast as fun stories about elves and quests.
Perhaps you might suggest one or more of the following to your book club. You might be surprised at the reaction from your fellow Lorrie Moore fans:
- The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold.
- Princess of Flames, Ru Emerson.
- War for the Oaks, Emma Bull.
- The Bone Doll's Twin, Lynn Flewelling.
- The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley.
- Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey.
- Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey.
- The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley.
- Witch World, Andre Norton.
- The Dancers of Arun, Elizabeth Lynn.
- The Gate of Ivrel, CJ Cherryh.
- Cards of Grief, Jane Yolen.
May this list enlighten you.
Ellid
The Last Homely Shack
Easthampton, MA
And before anyone says anything: that list was what I could dredge up from the synapses at 7:45 am, pre-caffeine. I know there are tons of excellent fantasy novels out there, but I figured if Ginia Bellafante even picks up *one* of the books I listed and likes it, my work is done.
*crawls off to rejoin Diamond and Malfoy on the bed*
Dear Ms. Bellafante:
I was appalled by your review of HBO's upcoming miniseries "A Game of Thrones." This is not, as you might expect, because of your assessment of the miniseries. I obviously haven't seen it, so for all I know you're spot-on in your critique.
The paragraph that had me choking over my morning coffee was this one toward the end:
"The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half."
Perhaps you haven't met any women who has asked her book club to read a fantasy novel, but that says considerably more about your circle of acquaintances (and your book club) than it does about fantasy readers. I've been reading fantasy and science fiction since I was 13, co-founded the science fiction and fantasy society at Smith College, and regularly attend SF and fantasy conventions. Despite the stereotype of only socially maladjusted boys and young men reading such works, the attendance at conventions is at least half female, including a great many women and girls.
And a lot of these women, perhaps the majority, read fantasy novels. If anything, fantasy is may be more popular among women than straight science fiction, possibly because more men than women train as scientists and engineers. And despite your assertion that "A Game of Thrones" is "boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half," many, many women write fantasy novels, often dealing with serious themes such as gender identity, LGBT relationships, the role of religion, and discrimination against women cleverly cast as fun stories about elves and quests.
Perhaps you might suggest one or more of the following to your book club. You might be surprised at the reaction from your fellow Lorrie Moore fans:
- The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold.
- Princess of Flames, Ru Emerson.
- War for the Oaks, Emma Bull.
- The Bone Doll's Twin, Lynn Flewelling.
- The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley.
- Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey.
- Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey.
- The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley.
- Witch World, Andre Norton.
- The Dancers of Arun, Elizabeth Lynn.
- The Gate of Ivrel, CJ Cherryh.
- Cards of Grief, Jane Yolen.
May this list enlighten you.
Ellid
The Last Homely Shack
Easthampton, MA
And before anyone says anything: that list was what I could dredge up from the synapses at 7:45 am, pre-caffeine. I know there are tons of excellent fantasy novels out there, but I figured if Ginia Bellafante even picks up *one* of the books I listed and likes it, my work is done.
*crawls off to rejoin Diamond and Malfoy on the bed*
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no subject
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 12:44 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 01:09 pm (UTC)From:But, of course, I'm just a geek girl. I like hockey, Scotch, Rush...and yes, "The Hobbit"--although I'd likely not propose that to any book club I'm in, seeing as how I read it for the first time in the fifth grade and have re-read it multiple times, as likely have the kind of friends I'd be in a book club with.
Who the hell is Lorrie Moore? I Googled her and she still didn't ring a bell.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 01:23 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 08:03 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:55 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 09:33 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:56 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 02:09 pm (UTC)From:My only copy is held together with tape, hope, and love, but I reread it constantly, and look for it at every used book store. And no one in my circle of fantasy-reading acquaintances has ever read it!
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 02:52 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:52 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 02:35 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:53 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-19 10:19 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-19 10:47 pm (UTC)From:YMMV, of course :)
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 02:56 pm (UTC)From:Out of curiosity, have you read Vision of Light by Judith Virost?
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:25 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 08:05 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 08:04 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:54 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:56 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-17 06:26 am (UTC)From:I'm always getting her last name wrong.
I read this book a long time ago, around the time I was just getting more involved with Ren Faire (of So. cal fame) and it ate my brain because of the bits of history that matched so well to the character research I was doing... Couple that with the more mystical/metaphysical elements of the story, it was just spot on for me.
Any who, took me forever to. Find it I print and get a copy. Great book.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:00 pm (UTC)From:But, I'm so sorry, I couldn't help but notice a bit of syntactic awkwardness:
attendance at conventions is at least half female, including a great many women and girls.
It immediately made me think, "what other kinds of females were in attendance besides women and girls? Mares and ewes?" LOL
[/grammar geek]
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:26 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:28 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:19 pm (UTC)From:I'd write something about it myself, but it seems like everyone else I know already has. :-D
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Date: 2011-04-16 03:27 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 03:39 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 04:08 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 09:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 08:26 pm (UTC)From:The first book of the series, "On Basilisk Station" is available for free download from the publisher.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 09:19 pm (UTC)From:However, just to be clear: they aren't fantasy. They're science fiction. That aside, have fun!