Fair point, but we can’t very well assess what isn’t available to read. Do you, erm, have such unpublished material for submission?
Please see my post re: “Beneath A Scarlet Sky”. Given your critique of Wheatley (unknown to me), it may bother you that a good portion of 900+ of your fellow citizens have fallen hook, line and sinker or, put another way, been infected by Beneath ASS (you may check book pagecat Amazon.uk, and on GReads). While the infected in UK are a fraction of those here in U.S., it may fire up if indeed Pascal Productions exercises its option to produce another entertainment product based on or adapted from this fantasy-alternate historical fiction novel … yet purportedly also BoTS. Author’s remarks about why it wasn’t published as nonfiction are gobsmacking falsehoods. There can hardly be more than 20% authentic history and fact in it, and it’d suck even were it presented as traditional HistFic.
Your objection seems to be that a historical novel that claims to be 90% true is only 20% true. That’s hardly unusual for historical novels.
But you also say that “this novel misuses and abuses: the entire Jewish community and the Shoah/Holocaust”. Can you explain what exactly it says that you think is a problem?
I see that Amy Pascal, who is apparently going to make a movie of it, is not only Jewish, but “was honored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center with its highest honor, the Humanitarian Award”.
I disagree with preliminary notion that BASS is not a Frankenstein entertainment product masquerading as though it were narrative nonfiction plus. (Lae Union editor’s only partly confused; her note on book’s page at Amazon proper relays how it ain’t often she gets to publish a true story crafted into page-turning fiction.) Author’s repeated claims are the tip of the 'berg, and this is aside from … how poorly it’s written. It’s a cheap buy or free borrow (another marketing decision to plant infection in a few tens of thousands and watch it grow).
I’m acutely aware - and horrified by implications of (trainwreck) - purported or actual intention of a member of the Jewish community to create another entertainment product based on or inspired by the purported but not actual true tales of the Forrest Gump of Milan (World War II Edition), as relayed by author. (Though worth noting that we have no real grasp on what protagonist actually told-relayed to pathological fantasist author, so must reserve final judgment about whether protag is despicable and/or delusional too.)
Yes, I could explain all that is wrong with the purportedly just short of narrative nonfiction (supposed 10-15% gap-filling and compression, etc. when that simply is not possible) does to authentic history by subtraction, rearrangement of what’s left and essentially using the Shoah as mere occasional prop/scenery and caricature. Or another example, excising or moving to periphery all but one of the actual villains of time-place so as to make room for (again, miscast) Leyers to take their roles and place as Hitler’s oh so busy and staff-free “left hand in Italy” doing pretty much every job but his own actual job. The rest is a bit much to explain this early in the day, but I’ll fill in if you like.
By the way, as to misuse if BoTS masquerading as narrative nonfiction+ (worth noting that initial false claims since evolved/devolved incl. that only dialogue was created), see various authors’ takes on the generally accepted lines/ethical walls breached by “Beneath”:
Should you not want to click through, I’ll certainly understand, but here is an random example - will later provide better - of the battle between authentic reality/history vs. the time-traveling wacky, flip-side version of “The Man in the High Castle”-adjacent benign-yet-malignant alternate universe in which otherwise reasonably if not very intelligent people choose to reside (or take holidays of whatever duration):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2263871538?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Verona says:
I can’t remember who recommended this book to me, but I’m glad I read it. Although I love American history and read lots of that genre, I really don’t have much specific knowledge about World War II. So I knew nothing of all about the war in the country of Italy. This book is based on the war efforts in that country as told by Pino Lela. Mark Sullivan met with Pino Lella in his older years, became intrigued by his story, and recounts it in this book.
I learned a lot about war that I probably didn’t want to know, and yet learned lots of compassion for those people living in countries torn apart by wars they didn’t seek. [Oh, but hold on tight, it gets worse … WAY worse] It caused me to be grateful all over again to live in America where we have been free of wars and conflicts for many generations now. I pray that we won’t have to endure what Pino Lella and the citizens of Italy had to endure. The deprivations, the fear, the death, destruction, and desecration of war is unimaginable and so unavoidable in my eyes. Power and greed cause such sadness and sorrow in our world. I admired the service that Pino Lella gave to his country as he served as a spy as the driver to a German general. He was an admirable man, and quite fearless starting as a youth leading Jews across the mountains to freedom. I took much away from this book. It was worth the read
America has been free of wars on its soil for many generations. Since the Civil War, in fact, 163 years ago.
Not only is that astounding, it’s defining. Our current American mindset is totally based on the fact that Americans have not had their homes and cities and industries and farms and countryside devastated by millions of shod feet passing over its acreage. That explains most of what we do in the world and why hysterical overreactions like the one after 9/11 cause more damage than the original outrage.
Whatever the merits of the book are - and I have nothing to say about it - Verona’s statement is a profoundly meaningful take on our modern world. Of course we’ve sent soldiers all over the world and wreaked much misery and death. (And maybe some good.) That has nothing to do with what she’s saying.
I think your answer and Verona’s observation reflect a common, very white point of view (and one that, like Verona, doesn’t account for Italy’s historical fondness for empire and dictators and fascism(**), but I digress). I didn’t limit my take to consideration of a particular limited type/method and scope of warfare. To be sure, we lucked out in terms of geographic and other circumstances, and in terms of northern neighbor. And we’ve never had a problem doing whatever dirty deeds would ensure that we needn’t worry much about southern exposure and vulnerability.
Otherwise, I take your points as fair assessment.
(**) And you can’t know unless you read the dreadful novel in question, but Verona’s observation is all the more funny because the protagonist and his family didn’t endure strife or hardship as one would rationally define it. Such is the power of warped perception. Protagonist was a spoiled boy in a wealthy family that never wanted for anything …a fantasist that author seized on as a vehicle to achieve “just one hit of my very own for once – I’ll do anything!” (As for the rest of protagonist’s countrymen, one might argue that seeking to recreate a past empire comes at a price, and they didn’t suffer as much as they deserved when you think of what they inflicted on others. A lot like America in that way.)
What the hell?
Please expand on this opinion that POC in America don’t share in the common pov that is defined by the U.S. not having been invaded and devastated for 163 years.
Oh yeah, forgot about the dog…Hahahaha
It’s probably Dan Brown, if we’re taking sales volume into account - an unpublished writer never hurt anyone with bad prose. But as a newcomer here, I’m surprised that Jeffrey Archer hasn’t had a mention yet.
I just gave up on “Justine” by Lawrence Durrell. I couldn’t decide whether it was a work of genius, or a preposterous pastiche of purple prose. In any case, I only made it about 2/3 of the way through.
I had to read Women In Love by DH Lawrence and Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy in college and I think I was left brain damaged by the experience.
I have given up on 2 books by Toni Morrison, just wretched, unreadable dreck.
You’d be very welcome.
Whatever you do, don’t read Serendipidus by Jennifer Ott. In fact, I’d think long and hard about using it to prop up a wobbly table or swat wasps.
Dropping a rolling camera down a fire escape may create footage, but it isn’t filmmaking. In much the same way, this isn’t writing.
A sentence from Sean Penn’s new novel:
We have a winner!
Yeah, I didn’t want to say that, because Internet bluster is dumb, but Sean has really knocked it out of the park with this one, in the “shitty novelist” competition. Here’s an appalling article on the novel. Get your cringin muscles ready.
Well, this gives me hope! Maybe I too can get published!
I was dropping in to note that Sean Penn is in the running, but I see that this has already been noted.