peeve du jour
If one more person refers to my narrator as if it is me, I am going to scream.
i.e.;
"I'm at the part where you're talking about your twin brother."
"I loved the party-in-the-woods scene, that must have been fun."
"I didn't know your first husband was Mexican."
Yes, I am female; yes, I am a counselor; yes, I grew up in LA.
No twins, no woods, no Mexican husband, no swimming naked at Venice Beach or having a drag queen for a neighbor. No beachglass necklace aside from the one my dad gave me just before the book came out. No dying best friend. No temptation of an ex-boyfriend. No house by the lake, no porch swing. No office in a hospital with a gold nameplate. (And certainly no naturally blonde hair! I pay good money for these streaks.)
As Kevin said to Maggie in Herbie: Fully Loaded, "Herbie...is a CAR."
And Beachglass is a work of FICTION. I thought we put a little disclaimer in the front of the book? No? Author's note? Or the word "novel" on the cover?
I mean, YES, I'm happy -- thrilled, in fact -- that people are reading (and loving) my novel. I suppose I should just smile and say thank you when they say they were inspired by my life, instead of telling them that no, they were really inspired by a fictional character's life; and that, big shockeroo here, I am actually capable of making things up. I should take it as a compliment that the writing is such that people feel they are reading about real-life stuff. I should remember that most people make assumptions; still others speak before they think.
I should just...let it go.
And yet I collect pet peeves like some people collect...um...collectibles.
Does Jeffrey Eugenides have this same problem?
"Jeff, I didn't even know you were a hermaphrodite. You totally look like a dude!"
i.e.;
"I'm at the part where you're talking about your twin brother."
"I loved the party-in-the-woods scene, that must have been fun."
"I didn't know your first husband was Mexican."
Yes, I am female; yes, I am a counselor; yes, I grew up in LA.
No twins, no woods, no Mexican husband, no swimming naked at Venice Beach or having a drag queen for a neighbor. No beachglass necklace aside from the one my dad gave me just before the book came out. No dying best friend. No temptation of an ex-boyfriend. No house by the lake, no porch swing. No office in a hospital with a gold nameplate. (And certainly no naturally blonde hair! I pay good money for these streaks.)
As Kevin said to Maggie in Herbie: Fully Loaded, "Herbie...is a CAR."
And Beachglass is a work of FICTION. I thought we put a little disclaimer in the front of the book? No? Author's note? Or the word "novel" on the cover?
I mean, YES, I'm happy -- thrilled, in fact -- that people are reading (and loving) my novel. I suppose I should just smile and say thank you when they say they were inspired by my life, instead of telling them that no, they were really inspired by a fictional character's life; and that, big shockeroo here, I am actually capable of making things up. I should take it as a compliment that the writing is such that people feel they are reading about real-life stuff. I should remember that most people make assumptions; still others speak before they think.
I should just...let it go.
And yet I collect pet peeves like some people collect...um...collectibles.
Does Jeffrey Eugenides have this same problem?
"Jeff, I didn't even know you were a hermaphrodite. You totally look like a dude!"
posted by wendy at 5:52 PM
2 Comments:
While reading middlesex, I must admit I did wonder anout the author! I looked up your website because I am half through with beachglass and I am loving it! hoping you have another one in the works. There are parts of your novel, that have me emotionally looking back on my youth. Thanks so much for such a beautiful story. Hope to hear much more from you wendy.
It is hard to separate the author from the narrator when reading such a personal story, I grew up in the same area of Michigan that Middelsex is set and in the same era, I agree with the previous post that I had to wonder about Eugenides....
I haven't read your book, yet, but I am on my way to the local independent book store to pick up a copy and I look forward to reading a story about HOPE in recovery. In fact I plan on buying more than one copy and reccomending it to friends in recovery and otherwise.
Very timely for me in my own recovery to read a NOVEL about hope in recovery.
Thanks!
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