I’d like to claim I’m always spot on when reviewing these short stories, but it’s clear with this next video that I’m a long way off on some of them, today’s story being a perfect example. I suppose that’s the beauty of reading-we all come away with something different, but in this case I’ve come away with a new nightmare!
Woohoo! I’ve actually heard of Ken Liu! First one! Truthfully, I haven’t enjoyed the stories of his I’ve read much, but he’s a great translator who’s brought some excellent Chinese stories to the English-speaking market. I should say, I haven’t enjoyed his stories because they’re not my style – I do think he’s very good at what he does though. (But I do think an author should be able to get his point across on the page even in a short story, and readers shouldn’t have to look for extra info… )
yes yes, I totally see what you mean. This was me just not being able to get over the whole ‘not being able to read’ thing, entirely my fault indeed. I’m not a big science fiction fan either, but I still haven’t heard of him! (hrmph).
You were getting into literary theory there at the end, Anne! In grad school I took a class in literary interpretation, and one theory is about reading an author’s bio and history in order to understand where they are coming from in terms of their experiences, the contemporary history, their economic situation, etc. to understand the story. If course, there is a whole camp that completely disagrees with that.
I was never good at literary theory, which is why my Marks in my English literature degrees were low haha