Reading the Bad Boys

Last week, a friend tagged me to share seven covers of my favorite books.  I liked not having to explain why I like them, because I'm not sure you ever really can explain why you like something.  To me, it's that the elements line up in your mind, and something that becomes a favorite is, as an agent once said, "striking a chord with you."

One book I shared was Phillip Roth's Pastoral, and while I love that book, I also love a lot of his writing because he explores so many layers and contradictions about what it means to be an American Jew. He also takes on the Israeli viewpoint here and there, and uses an exceptional amount of humor in looking at both.

There, I guess I did kinda-sorta tell you why I like him. But the main reason I'm telling you this is that for many years, I wasn't reading Phillip Roth's work because so many people were dissing him. Feminists were bothered by his weak female characters and endless descriptions of sexual encounters. Ex-wives wrote books about him being abusive and cruel. 

When I did pick up my first Phillip Roth book (The Counterlife), I can't even tell you why I did it. It might have been that reading a review piqued my curiosity. I think I remember staying at the home of a producer during a playwriting workshop, and I needed something to read before going to bed. I picked up the book and within seconds, was enthralled. 

I haven't read a ton of Roth's books, but the ones I have read have definitely stricken all kinds of chords. If he is going on and on about hopping into bed, I must be skipping those books; but the Jewish content is firing on all cylinders, and I can only say more power to him, for that.

The other writer I was not supposed to like was Norman Mailer. Though his book The Deer Park didn't make my top favorites, it is definitely way up there and one I loved reading in college. It was a favorite of a friend, and her recommendation was enough to get me to open it. The characters were so intensely real and the story of Palm Springs Hollywood folk so compelling I was truly grateful for the recommendation.

Both these authors are considered "bad boy writers" and are typically disliked by feminists. Though I consider myself feminist too, I am very glad I read Roth and Mailer. The other author who was an essential part of my reading life was Dostoevsky, whose books I carried around with me like a pilgrim for many, many years.

In some ways reading him is more problematic than Mailer and Roth, because Dostoevsky was anti-Semitic. I absolutely hate that, and there's simply no excuse for it. Yet, if I hadn't read his work, I feel I would definitely missed out horribly on my education as a writer. 

Mainly, what I'm saying here is there will always be artists you disagree with and some may even be despicable. But, in the end, it's important to read as much as you can by as many people as you can, because if they are good at what they do, you can learn a lot from them. And even if you despise their personalities, you may still find something in their writing that really strikes a chord.

That chord is what every writer needs to nourish. That doesn't mean you can't call them out on their mistakes and flaws--in fact you can and should. But I don't believe it means you should stop reading them.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

Reader photo:      gregwest98