First of all an apology to
anyone who was looking for the new Edge posting on Friday – I missed my spot
and it won’t happen again.
Now, if anyone was
thinking angry thoughts at my lack of a post, you’re on trend for this week as
I’m posting about violence.
When I first came up with
my story idea for Angel’s Fury, I realised that it might have some violent
moments. I thought it might even be a ‘horror’
but I wasn’t sure how far I could go, seeing I was writing for teens and not adults. So I did
some research to make sure my book stayed within the realms of what was suitable. I got a Darren Shan novel out of the library – Lord Loss.
I had to put it down before the last page. I was, I’ll be honest, horrified,
and I am someone who read Stephen King’s The Stand at 13 years old. The levels of violence and gore were almost
incomprehensible to me.
James Delingpole, writing
in The Daily Telegraph described the book as dark
but moral, he says "The scene in
which the boy's father, mother and sister are disemboweled and shredded by the
demon Lord Loss and his vile familiars Artery and Vein, must surely be the most
jaw-droppingly grisly in children's literature."
A recent Amazon review of
the same book reads:
“I am a fifteen year old girl who loves horror and
everything in the genre. I've in fact read ALL of the vampire series by the
same author so was expecting the same sort of style of writing and was quite
surprised when reading this how GORY it was. …
this book is not recommended for children's bedtime reading unless
nightmares are your thing!”
Do parents really know
what their kids are reading? It seems impossible
to me that they do. The chances of my
kids ever reading a Shan, after my own experience with his work, are next to
zero.
How is it that
there are endless debates about the portrayal of sex and drugs in children’s
literature; that I am not allowed to drop the f-bomb, and yet I can, if so
inclined, graphically portray the mutilation and cannibalistic disembowelment of
a teenager (I just finished Shadows by Ilsa Blick and she does just that)?
Is it because this graphic
violence is commonly fantasy violence and therefore not sufficiently realistic
to raise an eyebrow amongst established gatekeepers?
Is it because children may go out and have
sex after being titillated by teen literature, but are unlikely to turn into
cannibals or werewolves?
Is it because we
think teens are so de-sensitised to violence already?
Is it because the religious right are less
interested in violence than in sex and swearing?
Is it because publishers think that only torture porn will get boys
reading?
Is it some reason I haven’t
even thought of, or an amalgamation of factors?
All I know, is that I’d
rather my daughter read about a healthy sexual relationship with perhaps a few
swear words thrown in, than be given horrifying nightmares by reading scenes of
such graphic violence that they made me, an adult, feel dirty and nauseous.
What do you think?
In my experience the gatekeepers are far more nervous about contemporary realism violence than they are about fantasy violence. I'm not sure why.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Bryony. I think there is far more graphic violence allowed in many books aimed at boys because most of it is within a fantasy setting. Hence gatekeepers feel this acts as a buffer. When you place that violence into a 'real' contemporary setting, suddenly it becomes 'too close to home' and uncomfortable. However, if done well, and as an integral part of the plot, violence portrayed in a realistic way/setting can be effective in conveying the repugnant consequences of these actions.
ReplyDeleteHonestly violence has to be necessary. I am not a fan of books who have gore for the sake of gore. Not even horror titles because I believe real horror is in suspense. When I see too much gore it just feels like the author is trying too hard to shock us and seems... ameturish. Darren Shan can do horror well. I still believe his vampire series in one of the better ones about vampires and it was genuinely shocking at moments. It was dark, but not too gory and didn't need the blood. In Lord Loss and the other books in that series it's just there for shock value and after the first few scenes, you just don't care anymore. For our children, and even for adults, torture porn is sick, and unprofessional, but occasionally gore and violence adds a healthy layer to your story... if it is done well.
ReplyDelete