All the thesis presentations were wonderful and well thought out and well articulated and interesting, of course, but Joanne's thesis really resonated with me and with a lot of other members of the class as well because it was so interesting and original.
The idea that bestsellers follow a specific formula is incredibly apparent. I think the majority of the class can relate to the feeling of reading a James Patterson or a Dan Brown thriller novel under the classification as "guilty pleasures" for the same reason so many people line up to watch chick flicks or GI Joe movies. Guilty pleasures are fun and so is escapism. Since we are all experienced readers we know that reading fast-paced thriller novels is not particularly literary but they are fun to read, and hey! it's still a book, right?
Approaching the idea of an escapist thriller from a formulaic standpoint is a refreshing way to approach the genre. Either as a formula for success or as a strategy in order to recognize patterns. Most bestseller novels are written at the pace and style similar to the movies, eliminating literary details, symbolism, metaphor or what have you makes it attainable to the average reader that simply needs a book to read in a hurry.
I especially liked Joanne's close reading of the first passage of the novel as a formulaic device in order to "hook" the reader into the novel. And I realized how effective the "hook" sentence can be when I tried to remember how exactly the line went and all I could remember was:
"blah blah blah blah couple, blah blah laughter, blah blah blah blah breasts."
Yep, I'm hooked.
Dani,
ReplyDeleteYou kill me, honestly. But you're right! That's all I can remember too! I think this idea of having to instantly hook the reader is kind of a sad one. What does it say about our society that if we are not engaged in the first 2 seconds of reading we will give up and try something else? To be honest, our attention spans have all be shot to hell. We are such a fast paced society that we are constantly bouncing from one thing to the next. An author like Patterson capitalizes on that fact and he knows if he throws in a sexual word in the first sentence of a novel he has a better chance of holding a reader's attention until at least the bottom of the page. Because most people would read on in hopes that sex may come up again... Oh, our society.
I agree, I think looking at the novel in this context is an incredibly interesting way to write this final research paper. (Although, I don't envy Joanne in having to actually find her sources).
ReplyDeleteIt also helped me to remember that this paper isn't supposed to make declarations and analyzations on larger, psychological issues. It is supposed to stick to the text and examine it as literature, which Joanne is easily accomplishing.
It also reminded me of the classical Hollywood formula for making movies, and I wonder if her findings as what elements are in the formula for novel writing are in any way similar to those of the Hollywood classical era???
Hi guys! I have to say this is the first time I've read blogs outside my own group, but I'm glad I did haha! I really appreciate all this commentary on my thesis, it's definitely helpful for me. While I'm not sure yet about tying in movies or other Patterson novels (since I definitely want the main focus to be "The Postcard Killers") I definitely plan on going into the history and growth of the thriller novel, and how writers figured out what works and what doesn't. Also, I like the idea of incorporating the "short attention span" of good ol' Americans. This novel definitely does not allow much time to go on without some kind of action, and even then the chapters are extremely short (some only a page and a half long!).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insights guys. I definitely appreciate it!
Oh and Hannah in case you were curious, the sex does most certainly come up again... oh man... does it ever come up again hahaha.