pop matters
You know, I strive not to read my reviews, because therein lies madness. And yet, like most creative people, I can’t resist. Found a particularly nice one today on PopMatters:
“The problem with taking well-known material as your source is that a single misstep can alert the reader to weak writing. The characters and plots are so familiar, that a reader can’t help but compare the new work to the old. Even when new stories are being told, unless they can immerse the reader in a way that utilizes the well-worn stories in a compelling way, the reader will judge the work at every step. Streetfables’ Weird Sister and Red, both written by Elizabeth Genco, overcome this by telling their tales so simply as to inhabit a very primal place. They don’t replace the original tale or mythic figure as much as drag it, kicking and screaming, into our world, and then sit alongside it, daring it to make eye-contact.”
Yay! It’s tough not to screw this stuff up. I don’t always make it, but I have to give myself credit for trying and caring about the source material so much. Nice that someone else thought so, too.
