This one relates to me, because I'm a writer. And like all writers, I'm a pusshole. I'm fearing the day I finish my novel I've been working on since January on the world only for it to get shit on.
I bring this topic up because I saw something on Amazon that, for a moment, has shaken my confidence a bit. An E-book on Amazon, just as summary.
Andy Carter was happy. He had a solid job. He ran 5Ks for charity. He was living a nice, safe Midwestern existence. And then his wife left him for a handsome paramedic down the street.
We?re All Damaged begins after Andy has lost his job, ruined his best friend?s wedding, and moved to New York City, where he lives in a tiny apartment with an angry cat named Jeter that isn?t technically his. But before long he needs to go back to Omaha to say good-bye to his dying grandfather.
Back home, Andy is confronted with his past, which includes his ex, his ex?s new boyfriend, his right-wing talk-radio-host mother, his parents? crumbling marriage, and his still-angry best friend.
As if these old problems weren?t enough, Andy encounters an entirely new complication: Daisy. She has fifteen tattoos, no job, and her own difficult past. But she claims she is the only person who can help Andy be happy again, if only she weren?t hiding a huge secret that will mess things up even more. Andy Carter needs a second chance at life, and Daisy?and the person Daisy pushes Andy to become?may be his last chance to set things right.
Now, fair enough I think we've all seen this type of story before. It appears to be part of the manic pixie dream girl genre, 'cept here homeboy is like an adult. If I was looking for something to read, I'd pick it up, not expecting anything special. So I jump down to the negative reviews, and this is the one...
"Quirky girl helps man discover himself and come alive!" Which is a plot that's been done to death, really, and is sexist as all get-out toward both women and men. Ultimately it's a particular kind of male wish fulfillment, and if that's what you want to read, fine, but you can get an endless diet of it in pop culture without having to read this book.
Look I'll go as far as saying it is sexist, but does that mean the book shouldn't exist or even be read?
I suppose what I'm really asking here is, should an artist just create the art they want to make or should they be standing there asking, Does the world really need my voice too?