This Monday, I was travelling back to Bangalore from a week-long vacation at home. I had about half an hour to kill at Kolkata airport before boarding, so I decided to check out the book-store.
I picked up two books: Memories of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon and A Train to Pakistan by Khuswant Singh. I had not bought a book for myself in the longest time – thanks to the online library facility, Kwench, that my company provides. Besides – I had not read something really interesting that would make me want to invest financially and space-wise.Β But this time I wanted a good way to spend the two and a half hours flight (too used to having internet, and flight mode basically sucks), so ended up purchasing these two books.
I can’t remember if I have read other Sheldon books, but needless to say, he’s a popular author. Even if I have not read his works, I remember reading such fast paced, mystery thriller books growing up – I was quite a fan of the genre at the time. I loved Gone Girl when I read it in 2016. However, when I revisited the genre through Memories of Midnight, I can’t say I was quite excited. Some of the key traits that jumped out for me are:
- The fast pace of the writing, which is characterized by more telling than showing
- While the character development is not poor, it does not feel like a priority, but more like a secondary requirement
- The primary focus is on mind-boggling actions, bringing people back from the dead, showing larger-than-life (and in my mind, sometimes quite impossible) victories in business deals or courtrooms
- Lastly, there are multiple scenes which leave nothing to the imagination on the reader’s part – with too many obvious paragraphs which can easily be dropped to make the narrative stronger
While I have nothing against the writer or people who enjoy such writing (thrill is always exciting), from a writer’s perspective, a lot of the book felt like poor, lazy writing. I realize that over the years my taste has changed towards more muted, and closer-to-life narratives. I am interested in the story of the common man, the trials of regular life that s/he faces. Which is why I avoid most of Bollywood flicks, unless I am really in the mood for some drama.
However, I must credit the writer for his research on how different professions work: from information on oil fields to courtroom dealings to a psychiatrist’s clinic – this book covers a lot of ground.
All that said, I guess each author has a specific audience. In fact, even though the writing was poor, I did end up finishing the book, because I wanted to see it through to the end. Moreover, even though I had another book to choose from in the flight, I started with this one, coz, well, I was looking for a popcorn style book, made for light read! π
How do you feel about these popcorn-style books? Should publishing houses continue to publish such books? Which are your favorite authors in this genre?
‘Nothing lasts forever’ and ‘Tell me your dreams’ are better Sidney Sheldon books. But I wouldn’t say they are popcorn style π
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Hey, Swetha! π I’m sure they are better, but it will probably take me a while to get back to any Sheldon books. By popcorn style, I mean mostly light reads which you probably wouldn’t go back again. I’m guess you’re a fan of the author? π
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I’ve read a couple of his books so yeah, kind of a fan. βΊοΈ
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I understand – which element of his writing excite you most?
I am inclined towards more serious reads, as I mentioned in the post, which is why I didn’t quite find this to my taste. I’m so glad you shared your thoughts here, though. I enjoy listening to different opinions on a given topic. π
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He explores a wide variety of topics in his books. Like there’s the movie industry in one, hospital in another and aliens in the next. I’m a murder mystery fan so it’s nice to read about the possibility and techniques of crime in different settings. π
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That sounds very sinister – haha! But yes, I agree that he covers a lot of breadth in his books across multiple professions.
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