Tuesday, May 25, 2021

The Writer and the Reader

 


Does fiction owe us any fact?  Several years ago I was happily binge-reading the series of books by Walter Mosley featuring  the Los Angeles detective Easy Rawlins.  I just loved Easy.  He was a smart black man determined to bring decency and dignity into his life behind the eight ball.

I was devastated when Mosley killed off Easy.  For no good reason.  Not even a part of any plot.  I vowed no more Mosley for me.

A few months ago I was shocked to see a new Easy Rawlins book featured on Amazon. What?  Easy is alive again?  Just like that?  I was happy to read about Easy in a new adventure, but does an author have a right to kill off a character in one book and then have him appear in another?  

What about the reader and our emotional investment?  Just asking.


No comments:

Post a Comment