"You'd think I'd get used to being called a monster." :/ I spent some time last night reading some of LKH's old blogs, and this echoes uncomfortably with her own history. I'm not going to be a complete hypocrite and say that you shouldn't work out your own issues via your books, but when it's done this way it, well, makes me uncomfortable. I guess my problem with this is in two parts: 1. Nothing ever gets solved. Her books just constantly reinstate the same issues and never really address them. So it's not really working out her issues, but airing them. 2. While maybe in her real life the problems that she gives Anita may actually be traumatic, with Anita it's just true. Her ex might have hurt her (as all breakups will), but Anita raped and cheated on Richard, who is presented as the wrong party. Young Laurel was not a monster, Anita is , so any sort of sympathy that we're supposed to have for the character is drained right out. I feel like I shouldn't draw from her real life to examine what's wrong about her books, but this is all information that she willingly (and frequently) makes public. Speculation is one thing, but this is all from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If you guys find this sort of insight to be distasteful, let me know and I'll cut this shit out.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-07-27 12:44 am (UTC):/ I spent some time last night reading some of LKH's old blogs, and this echoes uncomfortably with her own history. I'm not going to be a complete hypocrite and say that you shouldn't work out your own issues via your books, but when it's done this way it, well, makes me uncomfortable. I guess my problem with this is in two parts:
1. Nothing ever gets solved. Her books just constantly reinstate the same issues and never really address them. So it's not really working out her issues, but airing them.
2. While maybe in her real life the problems that she gives Anita may actually be traumatic, with Anita it's just true. Her ex might have hurt her (as all breakups will), but Anita raped and cheated on Richard, who is presented as the wrong party. Young Laurel was not a monster, Anita is , so any sort of sympathy that we're supposed to have for the character is drained right out.
I feel like I shouldn't draw from her real life to examine what's wrong about her books, but this is all information that she willingly (and frequently) makes public. Speculation is one thing, but this is all from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If you guys find this sort of insight to be distasteful, let me know and I'll cut this shit out.