Fuck You Anne Fine!

[sidepocket_pro]

Ok, I just read this...

Anne Fine said that cosy tales in which children’s characters looked forward to future adventures had been replaced by gritty stories that offered no hope for their weary protagonists.Contemporary literature is dauntingly bleak, with depressing endings that do little to inspire

Comments

[syonanto]

*clings to her copies of HP*

[nemogbr]

Was that not the popularity of the Harry Potter series?

An abused child who gets rescued and finds himself to be a wizard.

Not a bad ending either.

When I was growing up it was reading Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and loads of sci fi.

[rusted_soul]

Personally I think there's room for both gritty realism and happy endings... although not necessarily in the same book.

With so many politically correct 'woe is me i'm in care/woe is me mum's a drug dealer/woe is me i'm caring for disabled relatives' stories out there, a bit of escapism and hope is nice now and then...

Give me the Famous Five over Tracy Beaker any day of the week. Although, that's just a personal opinion.

[sidepocket_pro]

Yea, like I can understand Twilight because HOLY CRAP look at the moral values in that book! @,@;

[durham_rambler]

I'm not surprised you're confused because the piece from The Times that you cite seriously misrepresented the circumstances in which Anne Fine was speaking at the Edinburgh International festival. We run Anne Fine’s web site and my partner has commented in the company blog about what really happened. Briefly, Anne Fine asked an audience of social workers what effect they thought it had on vulnerable children to read novels which were not only dark and realistic but which maintained this note through to a downbeat ending.

If you’re familiar with Anne’s work you’ll know that some of her books for older children do not have happy endings: for example The Tulip Touch and The Road of Bones. I think when you’ve looked into this you’ll conclude that your trenchant heading would be much more appropriately aimed at The Times journalist than Anne Fine.

[sidepocket_pro]

Ah yes, I do know her work so that is what surprised me.

So I will take away the fuck you part, thanks for informing me.

However, I think the reason why this is a shot heard around the world is not because she said it, but because it's opening up a old can of worms that has been on everyone's mind recently: That kids books are too dark and they are not the wonderful not dark kids books from my vague and biased memory.

So if you don't mind, I'm still going to leave it up. Thanks though!

[emabell]

You weren't Hans Christian Andersan bashing were you? 'cause I may have to spork you. I love Andersan......and even though heaps of his stories ended with people dieing, (The littlest mermiad.....the steadfast tin soldier etc)he still managed to make them beautiful, meaningful, and, yes, full of hope. So.......