Taking Notes: "Cultureshock" (2006) by Francesca Simon & Joshua Stamp-Simon

暢銷兒童文學作家 Francesca Simon 和她兒子 Joshua Stamp-Simon 互相介紹對方閱讀十九世紀小說以及奇幻小說，結果則是一場有趣的文化衝擊，奇幻大獲全勝。其中 Francesca 的陳述表現出一般閱讀群眾對奇幻原有的偏見，以及如何藉由這次的閱讀經驗予以破除。不過從他兒子的發言，我們可以知道，重點不在於閱讀奇幻，而是在於你知道自己想讀什麼，並且在讀的是什麼，更重要的是要培養出自己的閱讀判斷能力。值得一提的是，她兒子給她看的作品乃是國內也頗受好評的 Robin Hobb，the Farseer 三部曲。

原文出處：Guardian Unlimited
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/childrenandteens/story/0,,1691504,00.html#article_continue

劃重點：

Francesca Simon:
paragraph 1:

...... The moment someone says fantasy, I know I'm in for "The three blood-red moons rose over the dusty sand plains of Ut-Tajik as the bald jackal priest of Sidt placed the sacred silver urn of Caldon on the broken altar of the blind god Fifff." I got bored halfway through The Lord of the Rings; why should I endure Tolkien's imitators?

paragraph 6:

Why, I ask Josh, does he love fantasy so much? "Because they're the most enthralling stories," he says. Well, one person's enthralling is another's big yawn. But as I'm always telling people to read the books their kids love, I can put off the evil moment no longer.

paragraph 10:

...... All fantasy can't be lumped into a stodgy heap and dismissed. ......

Joshua Stamp-Simon:
paragraph 1:

...... To me fiction should be enjoyable first and "worthy" second. Although it's nice to think that classic literature will enrich the mind and broaden the horizons, this prospect fades into insignificance when faced with hours spent bored rigid.

paragraph 2:

This is why I've turned to fantasy, the genre unjustly deemed one rung below chick lit. It's therefore my duty to clear up a few misconceptions about fantasy fiction, the genre of kings. The Lord of the Rings, although a great example of fantasy fiction, is not synonymous with it. Tolkien's masterworks have spawned many cheap imitations. Of late, my generation has been responsible for this. ...... While writers of "conventional" fiction can create imaginary settings, they are bound by the physical, geographical and historical laws of our world. Fantasy authors have freedom to invent the perfect environment for the story they want to tell. This can be done badly - but it can also be done oh so well. ......