Boy books
03/12/08 19:47
UPDATE:
Anton Chigurh is as brilliant on paper as he is on
screen. But I didn't have to imagine him much--the
bad thing about seeing the film before you read the
book.
My next two projects have guy protagonists. It's a new thing for me. Well, that's not entirely true. Gabe, my protagonist in BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN, is a guy, but he's a different kind of guy. There's at least some girl culture in him (cultural influences for girls), because he was raised as a girl, even if he's got a guy brain. However, these next dudes have all the cultural training guys need (or don't, depending on who you ask). Could be tough.
But it will be as great as it will be tough. I love guys--as human beings, not just as a straight woman who loves guys (one guy these days). They appear simple, but their complexities are endless, and they're big fat chickens when it comes to sharing those complex minds/hearts. I like the stereotypical things--like when they fix and build, and when they watch sports (especially football, but I turn into a guy for football). I love their strength. I love their decisiveness. I love their tenderness. I love their action instead of talk. I even love their arrogance sometimes, because it's fun to watch them find out they're wrong. Was that mean? Probably so. I'll say it again--some of this is stereotypical, but there are truths contained in stereotypes.
These traits are even more endearing when they're exercised by 9- to 20-year-old guys trying to find their way in the world. It's a trick to teach a boy (like the one who lives in my house) when it's good to use the word "penis" instead of "doodle" (thank you Homer, Bart and THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, you spider-pigs). It's more of a trick to teach him that's it's all right to cry. Culture is really mean to guys sometimes.
What's on my reading list, to absorb guy characters? THE SCHWA WAS HERE, Neil Schusterman (possibly the coolest title ever, especially if you're a nerd who knows what a schwa is). The YA by Nick Hornby, can't think of its title. A reread of THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, Sherman Alexie's National Book Award YA. BE MORE CHILL, Ned Vizzini. I'll probably reread John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES too. There will also be lots of sitting around and watching guys this summer, never a real hardship and always good for a laugh. Here's my favorite oveheard quotation from a twelve-year-old guy: "I stopped eating paper when I started eating more for breakfast."
Who wouldn't want to write for people like that?
My next two projects have guy protagonists. It's a new thing for me. Well, that's not entirely true. Gabe, my protagonist in BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN, is a guy, but he's a different kind of guy. There's at least some girl culture in him (cultural influences for girls), because he was raised as a girl, even if he's got a guy brain. However, these next dudes have all the cultural training guys need (or don't, depending on who you ask). Could be tough.
But it will be as great as it will be tough. I love guys--as human beings, not just as a straight woman who loves guys (one guy these days). They appear simple, but their complexities are endless, and they're big fat chickens when it comes to sharing those complex minds/hearts. I like the stereotypical things--like when they fix and build, and when they watch sports (especially football, but I turn into a guy for football). I love their strength. I love their decisiveness. I love their tenderness. I love their action instead of talk. I even love their arrogance sometimes, because it's fun to watch them find out they're wrong. Was that mean? Probably so. I'll say it again--some of this is stereotypical, but there are truths contained in stereotypes.
These traits are even more endearing when they're exercised by 9- to 20-year-old guys trying to find their way in the world. It's a trick to teach a boy (like the one who lives in my house) when it's good to use the word "penis" instead of "doodle" (thank you Homer, Bart and THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, you spider-pigs). It's more of a trick to teach him that's it's all right to cry. Culture is really mean to guys sometimes.
What's on my reading list, to absorb guy characters? THE SCHWA WAS HERE, Neil Schusterman (possibly the coolest title ever, especially if you're a nerd who knows what a schwa is). The YA by Nick Hornby, can't think of its title. A reread of THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, Sherman Alexie's National Book Award YA. BE MORE CHILL, Ned Vizzini. I'll probably reread John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES too. There will also be lots of sitting around and watching guys this summer, never a real hardship and always good for a laugh. Here's my favorite oveheard quotation from a twelve-year-old guy: "I stopped eating paper when I started eating more for breakfast."
Who wouldn't want to write for people like that?