[HPforGrownups] Re: A sandwich

[Lee Kaiwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 178680

Geoff Bannister:

> What I am raising an eyebrow about is Annemehr's comment:

> "Why, yes. Well, one doesn't insist on "subversive" and certainly
> not "questionable, " but, yes, every sentence *should* be there for a
> purpose, and you know we are going to seek it.

> I don't think that JRRT went through EVERY sentence with a fine
> toothcomb. 

Thanks for presenting the context. However, I still hold, based on my 
readings in the History of Middle Earth series that indeed, yes, Tolkien 
DID go through every (or nearly every) sentence with a fine tooth comb.

Which may simply make him not the best example for your argument.

 > Don't forget also that there were inconsistencies in
> "The Silmarillion" which Christopher Tolkien never successfully
> eradicated before it was published in 1977.

There were, because Tolkien died without finishing it. Remembering that 
he began writing the Silmarillion in the middle of WWI, and he died in 
1973 with it still unfinished to his satisfaction, is a testimony to his 
fastidiousness, and in this case worked against him: with a lifetime of 
rewrites and re-visionings to contend with, I'm actually quite impressed 
with the job Christopher did. Sure, there are inconsistencies, but you 
can't blame JRRT for dying :-)

> There are many, many authors, including,
> inter alia, C S Lewis and JKR who have let inconsistencies in
> but many readers are prepared to let through for the sake of
> getting on with the reading. Real life can be a bit like that
> sometimes! :-(

Coincidentally, I've never been a big Narnia fan (though I quite admire 
some of Lewis' lesser-known works; Till We Have Faces holds a special 
place on my shelf) precisely because of his lack of attention to detail, 
and I'm afraid JKR is going down the same road for me.  I guess I was 
just not one of those readers willing to let the inconsistencies 
through, because to me it bespeaks an author who just doesn't believe 
in, or care enough about, her world to work through the inconsistencies.

And there *are* authors who *don't* let inconsistencies through. George 
R.R. Martin is one of my favorites. Martin's creation has been said to 
rival Tolkien's in depth and complexity. While I don't quite agree with 
that, I can understand those who do.

eggplant107:

  > [Long tirade against Tolkien's dullness snipped; concluding with:]

  > there is no disputing matters of taste.

While true, this has little relevance to my point, which is simply that 
inconsistency was anathema to Tolkien, whereas for JKR it seems to be 
SOP. If JKR doesn't care enough about her world to work out the 
inconsistencies, I'm afraid it's hard for me to, either.

-CJ