tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post2074750581596425082..comments2024-03-28T01:04:21.897-06:00Comments on Gossamer Obsessions: Cruelty in Characters - Can it be Overcome?AnimeJunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18229748454410488167noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-68104962277234438732010-02-17T13:16:48.943-07:002010-02-17T13:16:48.943-07:00I haven't read the book either, but, yeah, the...I haven't read the book either, but, yeah, the first incident you describe is repugnant and probably (for me) irredeemable as hero behavior.<br /><br />The second incident, I could possibly understand more if the hero felt that the "bad guy" needed to be dead for the safety of those he loves but couldn't physically bring himself to be the direct instrument of death (perhaps he is traumatized by killing his own brother to "put him out of his misery" and can't do so again?). Of course, if this is the case, the author should've made this apparent...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04380344795013361788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-91106742832948867212010-02-16T18:11:17.523-07:002010-02-16T18:11:17.523-07:00I think it would bother me too. I prefer my heroe...I think it would bother me too. I prefer my heroes to "rise above the evilness of the villain". I don't mind so much if a villain needs killing - if it's in context - a righteous police shooting for example or as you mentioned the historical setting etc. but torture? No, I don't think so.<br /><br />The second example with the burnt man would probably bother me a lot more now - I scalded myself with boiling hot tea a couple of weeks ago and I'm still recovering. It was in no way as serious as the burns this character suffered or as serious as often happens in real life, but it was the most painful experience of my life. The burn was about a third of my left thigh and I needed surgical debridement and spent a few days in hospital and then there's the dressing changes and all the other associated drama. I am especially sensitive to any kind of reference to burns now - I have (some) personal experience of just how painful it is and I can't write it off like maybe I was once able to. <br /><br />So, if I read this book (and I'm not sure about it, plus my TBR pile is HUGE) I think I'll have to wait a good long time so I'm (hopefully) not so heat sensitive as I am now!Kaetrinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16936055488367251592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-74395101651535919472010-02-16T12:55:38.893-07:002010-02-16T12:55:38.893-07:00oops -- left off my name when publishing!
I haven...oops -- left off my name when publishing!<br /><br />I haven't read the book, and am not likely to, as westerns just aren't my thing. But I could hardly stand to read the excerpt, it was so -- sociopathic. The fact that he had no pity in him for another human being. Well. Not my kind of hero.<br /><br />I generally agree with your perspective on moral issues, AnimeJune, so don't feel alone! I would just encourage you to actually disclose your feelings when you review the books, to warn people about this kind of thing.Vorkosigrrlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-85051619469677882442010-02-16T12:55:00.516-07:002010-02-16T12:55:00.516-07:00I haven't read the book, and am not likely to,...I haven't read the book, and am not likely to, as westerns just aren't my thing. But I could hardly stand to read the excerpt, it was so -- sociopathic. The fact that he had no pity in him for another human being. Well. Not my kind of hero.<br /><br />I generally agree with your perspective on moral issues, AnimeJune, so don't feel alone! I would just encourage you to actually disclose your feelings when you review the books, to warn people about this kind of thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-79558186641999995032010-02-16T07:37:29.842-07:002010-02-16T07:37:29.842-07:00It sounds like it would disturb me. I would have r...It sounds like it would disturb me. I would have rather the hero killed the burned guy right there instead of choosing to let him suffer, but then on the other hand, he's the guy who tortured his brother, so maybe the author gives the two people who tortured Sam the worst deaths? I suppose I can see that logic, but I still wouldn't like these scenes. The assisted suicide thing seems even worse than the burning, but I was raised Catholic too.Janicuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17680150271398341576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-67991689736299870352010-02-15T18:03:02.511-07:002010-02-15T18:03:02.511-07:00Torture is the One Thing that I can't handle i...Torture is the One Thing that I can't handle in books (ok, that and people getting stabbed in the eye). I am in full concurrance.<br /><br />In happier news, my word-verification is 'puggle.'raychhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08321213376462899047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-80079209975048622022010-02-15T17:07:08.924-07:002010-02-15T17:07:08.924-07:00I haven't read the book either, but I won'...I haven't read the book either, but I won't be planning to do so.<br /><br />I think your descriptions of what he did are awful. And yes, I think I find them more morally repugnant than killing them outright would have been. That would have been doing what needs to be done. This is a kind of torture.<br /><br />This sounds sadistic and cruel. How can you trust the feeling of a man who in these situations appears to have none?<br /><br />This wasn't a book I was planning to read, but now I know I won't be reading it.<br /><br />And I grew up Catholic too (and I'm still partially practising, certainly enough to send my son to a Catholic school), but I don't think that accounts for my feelings, just makes me understand and feel sorry for the villain, which I'm assuming wasn't the author's intention.Kerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01829070558793881064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-53271799397771198382010-02-15T16:47:40.321-07:002010-02-15T16:47:40.321-07:00Naomi --> Thank you! I was beginning to think I...Naomi --> Thank you! I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought something like that could be creepy. So many reviews are so positive, and even the ones that are so-so don't really mention the evil that Brady does.<br /><br />That being said - I never got the impression the heroine was in danger from Brady. Maybe that's why no one commented, because Brady did evil things to "evil" people - that doesn't really justify it in my opinion, but it may explain the silence from that corner.AnimeJunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18229748454410488167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348815.post-79913056972057189272010-02-15T13:00:25.335-07:002010-02-15T13:00:25.335-07:00I haven't read the book, but I don't think...I haven't read the book, but I don't think your reaction is out of proportion because of your Catholicism at ALL. I'm an atheist and I winced at your description of Brady's actions. It makes him seem as amoral or at least sadistic as the villains, which is a pretty terrible authorial choice, IMO.<br /><br />I'm impressed you finished the book - it would have been a DNF for me, I think. (Though I always feel pretty guilty when I give up on novels, however terrible they are!) I still haven't completed "To Have and to Hold" because I find the Sebastian's redemption so problematic. When all you want is the heroine to run away as fast and as far as possible from the hero (RUN, RACHEL, RUN!), it fails as a romance for me.Naominoreply@blogger.com