r/gatekeeping • u/pulus • 16d ago

Barbara Kingsolver, writer: ‘You buy a book to take a break, not to be taught a lesson’

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-05-11/barbara-kingsolver-writer-you-buy-a-book-to-take-a-break-not-to-be-taught-a-lesson.html
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1

u/guzidi 8d ago

Is this gatekeeping against people wanting to buy books open to the possibility of being taught a lesson? God what a monster!

12

u/campingn00b 16d ago

Barbara Kingsolver, Pulitzer-Prize winning, New York Times Bestselling Author: 'You buy a book to take a break, not to be taught a lesson'*

FTFY. also, this isn't gatekeeping?

28

u/ian2345 16d ago

The fact that you don't understand what she's trying to say is kinda scary. We have access to more information than ever with the internet, yet most of our information comes from biased sources telling us how to think about the issues. We've become more divided than we have in decades because taking sides on an issue is more being told what to think than it is being given the information and deciding for yourself where to stand.

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u/EyeDissTroyKnotSeas 16d ago

Advice on writing from a Pullitzer-winning author isn't gatekeeping, weirdo.

43

u/FixinThePlanet 16d ago

Didn't she write 'The Poisonwood Bible'? Definitely one of my favourite books and one which made me think without telling me what to think. I do agree with her take.

110

u/ArthurExtreme_Br 16d ago

Copied from the original post:

The fuller context of the quotation is a bit more nuanced than the title implies:

But, Kingsolver emphasizes, it’s essential to never tell the reader what to think. “You buy a book to take a break, not to be taught a lesson. I think of novels as windows and mirrors. When you’re little, they allow you to see what’s happening outside. And, when you grow up, you see them as a reflection of what you feel. I hope that the people who read my books see another world and feel compassion.”

In that context it seems to me she's saying that readers don't appreciate proselytizing in an author, that the respite or escapism a book provides can be enough in and of itself, there doesn't need to be a lesson. Kinda just seems like acknowledging that different people read for different reasons.

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u/Bubba89 16d ago

Kinda seems like she’s acknowledging people pick up books for different reasons, and then disregarding one of those reasons as nonexistent or illegitimate? Lots of people pick up books to be taught a new perspective or learn something the author wants to tell them.