I think he's a good writer, too, but yes, the new subject matter just isn't as compelling as the old.
Take this story (spoiler alert!):
Willem is a complete asshole; eh thinks little of women and mistreats his busboy, destroys other people's property and kicks a homeless guy for no reason.
Willem has a one-night stand with a very hot,very eccentric, woman who throws him out afterwards.
The next day, Willem is arrested. The woman was found dead in her apartment, the time of death roughly matches when Willem was picked up there by a taxi, one of his work shirts was found smeared with her blood, he has a history of violence and being an asshole, there's no way anyone will believe he didn't do it.
Cut to mysterious Mexican man. He thinks about how he is a successful serial assassin, how he killed the woman in question, how that asshole waiter took the fall for it, how life is good.
Big reveal: it's the busboy!!! (Which everyone saw coming, because he's the *only* Mexican character in the story, he had access to the shirt, and it'd make no sense for the assassin to be some random dude we hadn't seen before.)
Now, why am I supposed to care?
I feel sorry for the woman, of course, but mostly on principle: being violently murdered is bad, obviously, but we hadn't been shown enough of her to care about her on a personal level.
Willem is an ass. Going to prison for a murder you didn't commit is bad, and I'm against it, but again - on principle. I don't really care what happens to Willem.
Ramirez seems the nicest of the bunch, except - HE'S A PROFESSIONAL HITMAN. He kills people for money. He never asks why. He feels nothing when he does it, and he makes it as quick or as painful as his client wants him to.
Am I supposed to feel satisfaction that he got away with it again? Sorry, I'm not a psychopath.
So, in a nutshell, this is a story about people I don't care about doing things I find horrible. It fails to emotionally engage me because I can't identify, or even sympathize, with anyone in it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-05-08 12:12 pm (UTC)Take this story (spoiler alert!):
Willem is a complete asshole; eh thinks little of women and mistreats his busboy, destroys other people's property and kicks a homeless guy for no reason.
Willem has a one-night stand with a very hot,very eccentric, woman who throws him out afterwards.
The next day, Willem is arrested. The woman was found dead in her apartment, the time of death roughly matches when Willem was picked up there by a taxi, one of his work shirts was found smeared with her blood, he has a history of violence and being an asshole, there's no way anyone will believe he didn't do it.
Cut to mysterious Mexican man. He thinks about how he is a successful serial assassin, how he killed the woman in question, how that asshole waiter took the fall for it, how life is good.
Big reveal: it's the busboy!!! (Which everyone saw coming, because he's the *only* Mexican character in the story, he had access to the shirt, and it'd make no sense for the assassin to be some random dude we hadn't seen before.)
Now, why am I supposed to care?
I feel sorry for the woman, of course, but mostly on principle: being violently murdered is bad, obviously, but we hadn't been shown enough of her to care about her on a personal level.
Willem is an ass. Going to prison for a murder you didn't commit is bad, and I'm against it, but again - on principle. I don't really care what happens to Willem.
Ramirez seems the nicest of the bunch, except - HE'S A PROFESSIONAL HITMAN. He kills people for money. He never asks why. He feels nothing when he does it, and he makes it as quick or as painful as his client wants him to.
Am I supposed to feel satisfaction that he got away with it again? Sorry, I'm not a psychopath.
So, in a nutshell, this is a story about people I don't care about doing things I find horrible. It fails to emotionally engage me because I can't identify, or even sympathize, with anyone in it.