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As a huge Steinbeck fan, I do not want to read this book. I don't want to think of him as someone who wrote a warewolf novel - and he probably didn't want to th
by UncleOxidant 5y ago
As a huge Steinbeck fan, I do not want to read this book. I don't want to think of him as someone who wrote a warewolf novel - and he probably didn't want to think of himself that way either. At the time he would have written it he was very desperate for money so he would have written it in the hope that he might make a bit of money to keep going.
- dfxm12 5y agoWhether you read the book or not, whether the public gets the chance to read the book or not, he is someone who wrote a werewolf novel. You can choose to ignore that fact if you want, but it makes no difference; it doesn't make him any worse of a writer. It doesn't make Cannery Row any less of a novel.
- UncleOxidant 5y agoPeople do things when they're desperate for money that they're not proud of. They certainly don't want to be remembered for those things. The fact that he wrote it under a pseudonym indicates that he didn't want to be associated with it.
- shard 5y agoWriting under a pseudonym can be seen as brand management, so that the brand of one name does not leak to the brand of another. For example, Nora Roberts, the romance novelist, uses the pseudonym J.D. Robb when writing futuristic suspense novels. It may be as you said that he doesn't want to be associated with it, or it may be that he wants to keep the brands separate.
- WalterBright 5y agoWomen also used to write under male pseudonyms in order to get published. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-female-writers-who-wrote-under-male-pseudonyms/ https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-fem...
- Beldin 5y agoOut of curiosity, why do you use the word "novel"? I'll happily concede he wrote a werewolf story, but since it was never available as a book, I would not call it a novel.
- ssully 5y agoWhether it is released or not, he is still someone who wrote a werewolf novel and if it is released it's not something that would detract from his other works or legacy.
- preordained 5y ago> if it is released it's not something that would detract from his other works or legacy We don't know that. It could be a viral laughingstock that becomes the new primary association the public holds for the author (I doubt it, but never say never). If he didn't want it released, I'd say honor his wishes.
- ssully 5y agoI don't know, there are plenty of prolific and well regarded authors (Stephen King comes to mind) that have plenty of stinkers in their catalogue.
- sjansen 5y agoI’m not opposed to sharing an author’s unpublished works after death because their is value in allowing certain readers access. But after reading Douglas Adam’s, I’m personally hesitant to read unpublished item from any other authors. After finishing The Salmon of Doubt I felt vaguely embarrassed, like I’d barged into his house and found him relaxing on the couch in his boxers. I’m a fan, not a scholar, and there were reasons he wasn’t ready to share the material yet.
- ghaff 5y agoAre there any truly great posthumous novels other than maybe ones that were in essentially a final polish edit state? Hemingway's True at First Light wasn't bad but by Hemingway standards pretty so so.
- handrous 5y agoAusten's Persuasion is easily my favorite of her novels, and I believe it's understood to have been not just a polish-edit away from ready for publication, but one or two content and punch-up passes, too (which reveals to me that I probably don't really like the stuff she added to her other books in that stage).
- vidarh 5y agoI liked A Salmon of Doubt. If he'd published it himself in that state, I'd have found it embarrassing. But as a posthumous memorial that I knew from the outset would be unpolished, it was fine and a bit sad knowing it's never be finished. I think comes down to how well you're able to keep focus on that what you're reading is unfinished, and enjoying the glimpse of something raw.
- iggldiggl 5y ago> ...there were reasons he wasn’t ready to share the material yet. Not saying that the parts of the story that have been published might not have needed some additional polish, too, but wouldn't the major reason simply be the fact that the whole thing wasn't yet finished as in "the story just stops mid-way"?
- tomc1985 5y agoWhy is writing a werewolf novel such a stain on his reputation?
- booleandilemma 5y agoWhy does it matter? Anyway, wait until you find out what he used to do in the bathroom.