Do spoilers spoil anything? by Veronica Zundel
As a somewhat irregular reader of Goodreads (and a reviewer thereon), I often come across reviews which may start with the warning 'CONTAINS SPOILERS'. In other words, the review may give away some vital elements of the plot or dénouement that would spoil the experience of reading the book and not knowing how things were going to turn out.
I'm not a writer of fiction but I am a great reader of it, so I hope fiction writers here will forgive me if I pronounce on this field. To me, except in the limited case of crime/detective fiction where one might want to save the surprises, a 'spoiler' may to some extent prejudice how I approach the book, but in the end, if it is a well written enough book, I don't mind how much I know about it beforehand, I will still enjoy it. If that weren't the case, why would you ever read the book a second time?
My husband, who is working his way through some list of 50 or perhaps 100 best novels, has been struggling a lot with Little Women. Perhaps he is too used to books like A Song of Ice and Fire (or is it Fire and Ice?) where there is 'action' on every page, usually someone being stabbed or visiting a brothel, or being stabbed in a brothel. The gentle observation and humour of Louisa May Alcott is lost on him, and one has to admit that Little Women is not generally a book for boys and men.
Knowing what happens, however, (as he does because he's seen both the film and the recent TV
series) is not really what's putting him off. After all, I read the book and its sequels over and over in my childhood, and knowing that Beth recovers in the first book but dies in the second, or that Laurie marries Amy not Jo, didn't spoil my enjoyment in the least. If you haven't yet read it, I apologize for telling you that, but really, the appeal of the book is not in the very everyday events or any sense of suspense, but in the wonderfully drawn characters and their setting. Own up -- which of you women writers didn't identify with Jo?
The fact is, there is a lot more to a novel than plot. Some novels are plot-driven, and some aren't worth reading more than once - you can get everything out of them in one reading. But in the best literature, even if that's crime fiction and you already know whodunnit and why, there are so many other elements that would reward a second or even third reading: the subtleties of character, the observation of environment or of social mores, the evocation of emotion, the fictional people or places or both that one just doesn't want to leave behind. With some books (many of them by women like Jane Gardam or Barbara Trapido) I have got to the end and immediately wanted to read the whole thing again, because I had enjoyed it so much. It doesn't matter in the least that I already know what happens.
So if you are a fiction writer, don't worry too much about whether you have concealed the clues well enough or built up the suspense adequately. Make your people and places real, and the events will follow.
Veronica Zundel is a freelance writer whose latest book is Everything
I know about God, I've learned from being a parent (BRF 2013). She also
writes a column for Woman Alive magazine, and Bible notes for BRF's New
Daylight. Veronica used to belong to what was, before it closed, the
only non-conservative, English
speaking Mennonite church in the UK, and is currently playing at being a
high Anglican. She also blogs (rather occasionally!) at
reversedstandard.com
My husband, who is working his way through some list of 50 or perhaps 100 best novels, has been struggling a lot with Little Women. Perhaps he is too used to books like A Song of Ice and Fire (or is it Fire and Ice?) where there is 'action' on every page, usually someone being stabbed or visiting a brothel, or being stabbed in a brothel. The gentle observation and humour of Louisa May Alcott is lost on him, and one has to admit that Little Women is not generally a book for boys and men.
Knowing what happens, however, (as he does because he's seen both the film and the recent TV
The fact is, there is a lot more to a novel than plot. Some novels are plot-driven, and some aren't worth reading more than once - you can get everything out of them in one reading. But in the best literature, even if that's crime fiction and you already know whodunnit and why, there are so many other elements that would reward a second or even third reading: the subtleties of character, the observation of environment or of social mores, the evocation of emotion, the fictional people or places or both that one just doesn't want to leave behind. With some books (many of them by women like Jane Gardam or Barbara Trapido) I have got to the end and immediately wanted to read the whole thing again, because I had enjoyed it so much. It doesn't matter in the least that I already know what happens.
So if you are a fiction writer, don't worry too much about whether you have concealed the clues well enough or built up the suspense adequately. Make your people and places real, and the events will follow.
Veronica Zundel is a freelance writer whose latest book is Everything
I know about God, I've learned from being a parent (BRF 2013). She also
writes a column for Woman Alive magazine, and Bible notes for BRF's New
Daylight. Veronica used to belong to what was, before it closed, the
only non-conservative, English
speaking Mennonite church in the UK, and is currently playing at being a
high Anglican. She also blogs (rather occasionally!) at
reversedstandard.com
The views of a discerning reader of fiction are always of interest to a writer of fiction. Thanks for this - it's rather liberating!
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