Bows and flows of angel hair
Ice cream castles in the air
Feather canyons everywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way
From “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell
I’ve been making a note every time I come across a film that sounds interesting. This is the list so far:
Perestroika
Cherry tree lane
London to Brighton - seen it. Really good. Recommend it.
World’s Greatest Dad - seen it. Awful. Don’t touch it.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Of Gods and Men
Cool Hand Luke
Once upon a time in the west
Ballast
Confessions of a dangerous mind
You can count on me
All the presidents men
Taxi driver
44 inch chest
Blue Valentine
Inside Job
Cave of forgotten dreams
Aguirre, the wrath of god
Memories of murder
First ascent
Le Gamin au Velo
Rosetta
L’enfant
Fire in Babylon
Today I read this article in the New Yorker about George R.R. Martin. He has already sold more than 15 million copies of his fantasy book series and with HBO doing a TV series right now, he’s sure to sell a lot more.
The article talks about the anger he’s getting from fans who have been waiting six years for the next installment in the series, despite his promises that he would finish in a year. This passage caught my eye:
The online attacks on Martin suggest that some readers have a new idea about what an author owes them. They see themselves as customers, not devotees, and they expect prompt, consistent service. Martin, who is sixty-two, told me that Franck calls the disaffected readers the Entitlement Generation: “He thinks they’re all younger people, teens and twenties. And that their generation just wants what they want, and they want it now. If you don’t give it to them, they’re pissed off.”
The first novel, A Game Of Thrones, came out in 1996. The second and third came out in 2-year intervals but the fourth took 5 years and this year’s book has taken 6 years. He’s already announced that there will be seven books* in the series so it looks like he may be in his seventies when he finishes. Given his age, the considerable length of the books and the pile of money he’s made, it’s no wonder he’s running out of steam. According to the article, he never has a grand plan in mind for the plot, which sounds like a recipe for extreme difficulties in writing the ending.
Anyway, coming back to the quote above, are readers not customers? If he hadn’t made any promises then fair enough I suppose but it sounds a little foolish to label his fans like this.
I’ve only read the first book, A Game Of Thrones. It’s certainly a page-turner but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good. I don’t know how the TV program is going to deal with a few of the controversial scenes in the book which involve violence, incest, and underage sex, which were uncomfortable reading for me. I read the book a few years ago but one thing I remember is that the cruel treachery and betrayal made me very angry at the characters in the book. This level of emotional involvement could be seen as a tribute to the writer’s skill, but perversely, I didn’t want to read the second book because I highly suspected that the dark, cruel side of human nature would be further dragged out in front of me in subsequent volumes. The characters that I identified with in terms of ethics seemed to be weak or beset by such continual misfortune that it became ridiculous.
Anyway, the TV series is out now and I’ll be watching that. Despite what I say, I wouldn’t be surprised if I get back into the books.
*If a trilogy is 3 works, what is 7 works? A heptology? Answers on a postcard.
