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"After all, as one of the most famous writers in the world today, you are a legitimate subject for inquiry, whether you welcome it or not." Either I a

"After all, as one of the most famous writers in the world today, you are a legitimate subject for inquiry, whether you welcome it or not." Either I am completely out of touch, or this statement is not true. It's probably the former. One of the mentioned novels titles sounds vaguely familiar, but I have never ever heard of Elena Ferrante. I only read this letter because I wondered why an open letter to someone I'd never heard of was posted to HN. * [edit] Having said that, I completely agree with and respect her right to remain anonymous, whether she is influential through her writing or not. I also completely agree with the assertion that a book, or indeed any work of art or performance, exists totally independently of it's author once published or performed.

soneca 8y ago
She is definitely one of the most famous writers today. You knowing about her isn't necessary to making the statement true.
- satori99 8y ago
  I consider myself a reasonably well-read person. I read often and fast so I manage to get through a decent number of books, mostly novels, each year. I don't stick to any particular genres and can sensibly discuss anything from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. I think I might get on with this author because I don't think about the authors of the books I read much at all. I have next to no interest in their personal lives or their circumstance -- only their stories. I remember the names of authors who impress me, but that's about it. In any case I know about Her(Him?) now, so I guess I'll see if she's any good.
- BigChiefSmokem 8y ago
  I just saw her claim to fame and none of her literature I would consider mainstream nor famous. The lot of you are wrong to tell the rest of us what is and isn’t famous. Condescending and thinking yoursef somehow better than one who doesn’t agree with you doesn’t make you a better hacker.
  - soneca 8y ago
    I am not sure how did you read my statement. I find absurd the idea of thinking myself better for knowing about the existence of Elena Ferrante. "Most famous" is a vague statement for sure, but I believe that considering someone famous is quantifiable somehow, so not much a matter of opinion. What gives so much subjectivity to this statement is the interpretation of "most", I think. I interpreted "most" as among the top, let's say, 100 writers. If you interpret "most famous" as the top 5, than she is probably not there in most of the world. I think you judged me too harsh for my statement.
edanm 8y ago
I'm pretty well-read, although not really in the "general literary" genre. And I also only heard about her a few months ago. That said, the person who introduced her to me made it quite clear that Elena Ferrante is extremely well known, and was shocked that I hadn't heard of her. And I've seen then somewhat confirmed this - she is indeed pretty famous (e.g. this article). So I understand the boat you're in... let's just consider ourselves today's lucky 10,000 :) (And no, I haven't read her book yet, but I'm planning to).
- onlydeadheroes 8y ago
  Sounds like marketing to me, nothing more. from the article: "global superstar" I guess the bar has been lowered past the floor now.
  - marchenko 8y ago
    She's a legitimate global superstar in fiction writing. Her books are popular enough to move the percentage of total book sales represented by translated fiction in English-speaking markets (she` writes in Italian). Strangely enough, her approach is often considered a kind of anti-marketing: no book tours, few interviews, strangely downscale cover art - people, mostly women, just really love her writing.
    - onlydeadheroes 8y ago
      I guessed I stepped on the wrong narrative because just questioning this author's superstardom has gotten me to -4 on a mostly male site where most people can't even downvote. I have no opinion on this author, but can we please stop pushing everything like it is the second coming of christ just because women like it? As I said, marketing.
      - marchenko 8y ago
        I didn't downvote you, but those who did probably decided your response was not particularly well-informed. Men might dominate HN, but women are over-represented as consumers of fiction (and nonfiction), in both print and ebook format-in the UK market, for example, they buy over 2/3rds of fiction books. So simply being popular with women is enough to be a literary phenomenon.
avvt4avaw 8y ago
She was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 -- not one of the most influential writers, but one of the most influential people. So it seems fair to say that she is one of the most famous writers in the world. That you haven't heard of her probably says more about you than it does about her.
- satori99 8y ago
  > That you haven't heard of her probably says more about you than it does about her Sure. It says I'm out-of-touch -- and doubly so when it comes to whomever Time Magazine thinks is influential.
  - PakG1 8y ago
    Given where Time Magazine is today, the sad fact may be that Time is no longer influential enough to decide who's influential anymore... :(
Nursie 8y ago
I've never heard of Elena Ferrante either. I read quite a lot but most of my tastes could probably easily be derided as 'genre fiction'. I would absolutely argue she has a right to her privacy and anonymity, if that's what she wants.

soneca 8y ago

She is definitely one of the most famous writers today. You knowing about her isn't necessary to making the statement true.

satori99 8y ago
I consider myself a reasonably well-read person. I read often and fast so I manage to get through a decent number of books, mostly novels, each year. I don't stick to any particular genres and can sensibly discuss anything from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. I think I might get on with this author because I don't think about the authors of the books I read much at all. I have next to no interest in their personal lives or their circumstance -- only their stories. I remember the names of authors who impress me, but that's about it. In any case I know about Her(Him?) now, so I guess I'll see if she's any good.
BigChiefSmokem 8y ago
I just saw her claim to fame and none of her literature I would consider mainstream nor famous. The lot of you are wrong to tell the rest of us what is and isn’t famous. Condescending and thinking yoursef somehow better than one who doesn’t agree with you doesn’t make you a better hacker.
- soneca 8y ago
  I am not sure how did you read my statement. I find absurd the idea of thinking myself better for knowing about the existence of Elena Ferrante. "Most famous" is a vague statement for sure, but I believe that considering someone famous is quantifiable somehow, so not much a matter of opinion. What gives so much subjectivity to this statement is the interpretation of "most", I think. I interpreted "most" as among the top, let's say, 100 writers. If you interpret "most famous" as the top 5, than she is probably not there in most of the world. I think you judged me too harsh for my statement.

edanm 8y ago

I'm pretty well-read, although not really in the "general literary" genre. And I also only heard about her a few months ago. That said, the person who introduced her to me made it quite clear that Elena Ferrante is extremely well known, and was shocked that I hadn't heard of her. And I've seen then somewhat confirmed this - she is indeed pretty famous (e.g. this article). So I understand the boat you're in... let's just consider ourselves today's lucky 10,000 :) (And no, I haven't read her book yet, but I'm planning to).

onlydeadheroes 8y ago
Sounds like marketing to me, nothing more. from the article: "global superstar" I guess the bar has been lowered past the floor now.
- marchenko 8y ago
  She's a legitimate global superstar in fiction writing. Her books are popular enough to move the percentage of total book sales represented by translated fiction in English-speaking markets (she` writes in Italian). Strangely enough, her approach is often considered a kind of anti-marketing: no book tours, few interviews, strangely downscale cover art - people, mostly women, just really love her writing.
  - onlydeadheroes 8y ago
    I guessed I stepped on the wrong narrative because just questioning this author's superstardom has gotten me to -4 on a mostly male site where most people can't even downvote. I have no opinion on this author, but can we please stop pushing everything like it is the second coming of christ just because women like it? As I said, marketing.
    - marchenko 8y ago
      I didn't downvote you, but those who did probably decided your response was not particularly well-informed. Men might dominate HN, but women are over-represented as consumers of fiction (and nonfiction), in both print and ebook format-in the UK market, for example, they buy over 2/3rds of fiction books. So simply being popular with women is enough to be a literary phenomenon.

avvt4avaw 8y ago

She was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 -- not one of the most influential writers, but one of the most influential people. So it seems fair to say that she is one of the most famous writers in the world. That you haven't heard of her probably says more about you than it does about her.

satori99 8y ago
> That you haven't heard of her probably says more about you than it does about her Sure. It says I'm out-of-touch -- and doubly so when it comes to whomever Time Magazine thinks is influential.
- PakG1 8y ago
  Given where Time Magazine is today, the sad fact may be that Time is no longer influential enough to decide who's influential anymore... :(

Nursie 8y ago

I've never heard of Elena Ferrante either. I read quite a lot but most of my tastes could probably easily be derided as 'genre fiction'. I would absolutely argue she has a right to her privacy and anonymity, if that's what she wants.