An interesting article.  Hannah (14) just finished reading The Lovely Bones, which I believe is in the tradition of “lurid sadness” and victim-recovery.  How can we explain, then, the avid, voluntary reading by youth of the epic tragedies, deaths, and childhood issues in the Harry Potter series?  Are these issues handled differently when they aren’t the main subject of the book?  Not sure…and I haven’t read the lemony snicket stuff…

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: barry brake [mailto:barry@...]
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 1:11 AM
To: interesting people
Subject: [inpeople] phantom tollbooth vs little women

here's an article about the phenomenon of lurid sadness in children's
books. i've often joked with catherine about the "newbery death
books," but she doesn't seem to agree -- this article, though,
mentions newbery's notoriety in that area.

interestingly, one of the authors decrying that phenomenon is lemony
snicket, the impish author of the "series of unfortunate events" books
-- a series which dwells unrelentingly on the horrid events in the
baudelaire orphans' lives. can't quite put my finger on how to
reconcile this, though i have inchoate suspicions.

any thoughts?

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/books/review/22MILLERL.html?8bu>

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barry
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