Hello friends,
Someone asked me not that long ago if I thought The Austen Chronicles were essentially fan fiction. My answer was that I don’t think my series is fan fiction. First, let me say that there is nothing wrong with fan fiction. I think that fan fiction is wish fulfillment. It is filling in gaps that the author left. Sometimes those gaps are intentional and sometimes they are oversights. Fan fiction is fun and people should write it and love it and read it and the AI bots that scrub the internet and use it to teach themselves to read should be ashamed. OK, The people who train the bots. Bots are not people. Either way, Booo!
The reason I don’t think that my books are fan fiction. I believe that they are literary criticism wrapped in, what I hope are, fun novels with characters that people love. As an English teacher who loves applying critical theory to all kinds of art, it got me thinking about the idea of using a reimagining or an adaptation as a form of critical analysis. In my book, Welcome to Mansfield, I comment directly on some of the coded language Austen uses in her severely underappreciated original Mansfield Park. I do the same thing in books two and three (both of which are written, more on that below) and I will continue to do it throughout the series.
It is hard not to look at Clueless, my favorite adaptation of Emma ever, and not see the analysis Amy Heckerling has sprinkled throughout that film. Sure, we could look at it for exactly what it is, a tightly written, perfectly performed work of comedy. There would be nothing wrong with that at all. However, we can also look at the way Heckerling points out the absurdity of Mr. Woodhouse’s overbearing protectiveness which ultimately stunts Emma and sets her back years, in the way she writes and directs Dan Hedaya, as the over-the-top Mel Horowitz who refuses to let Cher grow up.
This got me thinking about the way that cover songs can sometimes act as commentary as well. For people of a certain age, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had a certain meaning and it made them feel a particular way, even when they didn’t know what it was exactly Cobain was saying. However, when Tori Amos covered it and turned it into a ballad, the song took on a whole new meaning which commented on the rise of grunge itself and what it thought it “stood for.” Feel free to throw virtual tomatoes my way, but I think Amos’ version is flawless.
What do you think? Am I crazy? Am I just writing fan fiction? Is there anything wrong with that? Do you think I doth protest too much? Please, let me know. Let’s have a conversation.
Notes from my bookshelf
I recently had the privilege to read Percival Everett’s newest novel, James. The novel reimagines Huck Finn from Jim’s perspective. It is not perfect, but it is exceptional. Like the original, it sort of falls apart in the third act, but because Everett remains true to the source material while making an entirely new, and brilliant story, it could be that it falls apart on purpose. I could believe that. The book is a gut punch and it takes a real honest look at the mythology of Jim inside the Tom &Huck universe. It is a brilliant piece of literary criticism. (See how I started the conversation? Have you read this? Let me know.)
In non-fiction news, I read Julia Wertz’s Impossible People. It is a graphic memoir about her road to recovery from alcoholism. It is honest. It is heartbreakingly funny. Thanks to a subscriber of this very newsletter and friend from the library, Kim, for the suggestion.
Notes from my Keyboard
BIG NEWS!!! I have TWO BOOKS COMING OUT IN OCTOBER!!!
Sorry for the shouting, but I am very excited.
First up: Comics Lit. Vol 1. will be released on October 2nd. It is a collection of essays written by a bunch of nerds (myself included) who set out to show how comic books are high art and have value. I have been teasing it for a while, but here it is. You can pre-order it here and you can get an ARC of it here in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads or Amazon (or both). Thanks to Tonya Todd for co-editing and contributing to this project with me. Thank you to the writers, Alyson, Ada, Tony, Heath, Seth, Eric, and Kelly who followed us into this adventure.
AND…DRUMROLL
That Other Dashwood Girl comes out on October 12th. AHHHH! I am super proud of this. Maggie is so great. I got permission from her favorite songwriter, Matt Nathanson, to use lyrics to one of his songs. It is so cool. You can pre-order it here and you can pick up the ARC here.
Thank you all for your continued support and for being a subscriber.
ARF
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