There are many times when people wonder “Why do I like reading?”. Their answers to this single question can be the most different ones, from a need of leisure to that of a way of escape from their real lives, but how can a novel satisfy them? In other words, why do we choose particular kinds of books and what do we expect from a lecture?
There is no doubt that tastes, expectancy and enjoyment coming from reading depend on individual personality, attitudes and life experiences. In spite of this, if we observe deeply, we could find many common points in spite of all the differences among different people’s preferences.
In particular, readers want their curiosity to be rewarded thanks to thrilling plots and -why not?- characters against the rules. They wish the unexpected, to see how an author is good at stimulating their imagination, telling them about him or herself and transmitting emotions to them at the same time. So now we are going to introduce two inspiring masterpieces which can satisfy such requests thanks to a striking suspense and original villains.
At first, if you are a little bit nonconformist and wish to read something different from the classical detective story, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (1907), by Maurice Leblanc can provide you an unusual perspective about crime thanks to the figure of a generous, unpredictable, charming burglar who only steals from the wealthier and for the poorer people also by using his skills in the art of camouflage. Interested in women, money, gamble, luxury and martial arts, he loves feeling in danger but knows he has to stay calm if he wants to continue with his criminal career.
Secondly, have you ever thought about the possibility of combining the genres of fantasy, spy story and adventure in a single book series? If you have never done it, you should really read the Artemis Fowl books, published between 2001 and 2013 by the Irish author Eoin Colfer. They tell about the vicissitudes of an extremely brilliant, cold-minded and determined 12-year-boy, last descendant of a lineage of delinquents. His enemies, like the female pixie Opal Koboi, form part of “The Population”, an hidden magic civilization composed of dwarfs, pixies and leprechauns. Everything starts in the first book (Artemis Fowl, 2001) when the protagonist, psycho and devoted to his family at the same time, manages to steal a magic book from “The Population” in Ho Chi Minh City and tries to use it to obtain enough gold in order to set his criminal empire. If you are fascinated by complex stories and intelligent, skilful criminals with a human heart, novels like these are the most suitable for you.
In conclusion, when we choose to read a new novel, we do it because we want to feel surprised. And surprise is easier to achieve through villains, because even though they are evil, they are very difficult to create due to their firmness and the deep reasons behind their behaviour. We are like captured by them because we expect them to be punished-sooner or later- for their actions, but we also actually admire their ability in escaping from justice, as well as their hidden features which does not correspond to the general idea of criminal. Sometimes we envy such characters who in their fictional world can perform what in our daily life is not allowed. But the conclusion of the story, no matter if positive or negative, breaks the enchantment and reminds us what we were reading about was not real. For these reasons, what makes a writing a masterpiece is suspense and a great, uncommonly wicked and dominant personality among its pages.
Thank you very much for reading. If you have enjoyed this article, please leave a comment at the usual link: https://anamendigain.edublogs.org/ and wait eagerly until next week for our next post.
The fascination of suspense and villains in literature
There are many times when people wonder “Why do I like reading?”. Their answers to this single question can be the most different ones, from a need of leisure to that of a way of escape from their real lives, but how can a novel satisfy them? In other words, why do we choose particular kinds of books and what do we expect from a lecture?
There is no doubt that tastes, expectancy and enjoyment coming from reading depend on individual personality, attitudes and life experiences. In spite of this, if we observe deeply, we could find many common points in spite of all the differences among different people’s preferences.
In particular, readers want their curiosity to be rewarded thanks to thrilling plots and -why not?- characters against the rules. They wish the unexpected, to see how an author is good at stimulating their imagination, telling them about him or herself and transmitting emotions to them at the same time. So now we are going to introduce two inspiring masterpieces which can satisfy such requests thanks to a striking suspense and original villains.
At first, if you are a little bit nonconformist and wish to read something different from the classical detective story, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (1907), by Maurice Leblanc can provide you an unusual perspective about crime thanks to the figure of a generous, unpredictable, charming burglar who only steals from the wealthier and for the poorer people also by using his skills in the art of camouflage. Interested in women, money, gamble, luxury and martial arts, he loves feeling in danger but knows he has to stay calm if he wants to continue with his criminal career.
Secondly, have you ever thought about the possibility of combining the genres of fantasy, spy story and adventure in a single book series? If you have never done it, you should really read the Artemis Fowl books, published between 2001 and 2013 by the Irish author Eoin Colfer. They tell about the vicissitudes of an extremely brilliant, cold-minded and determined 12-year-boy, last descendant of a lineage of delinquents. His enemies, like the female pixie Opal Koboi, form part of “The Population”, an hidden magic civilization composed of dwarfs, pixies and leprechauns. Everything starts in the first book (Artemis Fowl, 2001) when the protagonist, psycho and devoted to his family at the same time, manages to steal a magic book from “The Population” in Ho Chi Minh City and tries to use it to obtain enough gold in order to set his criminal empire. If you are fascinated by complex stories and intelligent, skilful criminals with a human heart, novels like these are the most suitable for you.
In conclusion, when we choose to read a new novel, we do it because we want to feel surprised. And surprise is easier to achieve through villains, because even though they are evil, they are very difficult to create due to their firmness and the deep reasons behind their behaviour. We are like captured by them because we expect them to be punished-sooner or later- for their actions, but we also actually admire their ability in escaping from justice, as well as their hidden features which does not correspond to the general idea of criminal. Sometimes we envy such characters who in their fictional world can perform what in our daily life is not allowed. But the conclusion of the story, no matter if positive or negative, breaks the enchantment and reminds us what we were reading about was not real. For these reasons, what makes a writing a masterpiece is suspense and a great, uncommonly wicked and dominant personality among its pages.
Thank you very much for reading. If you have enjoyed this article, please leave a comment at the usual link: https://anamendigain.edublogs.org/ and wait eagerly until next week for our next post.
Andrea Gaetano Sequi
May 9, 2021
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