tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post2489566842671619048..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: Licence to be Extremely Thrilling - by Nicola MorganMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-34179769381340750022011-07-29T21:10:54.034+01:002011-07-29T21:10:54.034+01:00I agree - I'm not sure if it's a bad or a ...I agree - I'm not sure if it's a bad or a good thing, that we can't always cope with bad things which are too close to home. As someone said, a child drowned in your village pond is a tragedy, a hundred people drowned in China is news... It's human nature - we're wired for small groups. <br /><br />In which case I think we should celebrate historical fiction for being able to help readers to encounter stuff they'd not be able to handle otherwise, and go places which would be no go areas otherwise...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-29604961115989576242011-07-27T13:20:31.006+01:002011-07-27T13:20:31.006+01:00You're so right. History somehow puts a plast...You're so right. History somehow puts a plaster over the pain. Maybe we can't take stuff that's too close even when we know it's true. Good luck with BRUTAL EYESBarbara Mitchelhillhttp://barbaramitchelhill.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-18281517991561528782011-07-26T13:21:19.471+01:002011-07-26T13:21:19.471+01:00I want to read BRUTAL EYES.I want to read BRUTAL EYES.Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-79550217324706516132011-07-26T11:11:29.718+01:002011-07-26T11:11:29.718+01:00Most interesting. And I hope BRUTAL EYES...love th...Most interesting. And I hope BRUTAL EYES...love the punning title!...does get published somewhere somehow. You are a brave crabbit old bat.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-40406212150857113812011-07-25T23:55:40.100+01:002011-07-25T23:55:40.100+01:00Great discussion points - one the advantages of hi...Great discussion points - one the advantages of historical settings to create drama is that putting a character in danger doesn't automatically trigger a visit from sixteen social workers!Theresa Breslinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240135723649161949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-14649314759737013302011-07-25T20:40:06.151+01:002011-07-25T20:40:06.151+01:00It is amazing how fast things become history. If y...It is amazing how fast things become history. If you had written, back in 2000, about a terrorist attack that knocked down two skyscrapers it would have been deemed crazy fantasy. If you had written two weeks ago that a lone man would gun down close to one hundred teens at a summer camp in Norway you would have been accused of writing pulp sensationalism. <br /><br />But once it is on the news, the shock quickly fades to fatalism, as if it had always been meant to be. "All the signs were there. Anyone could have predicted it." By definition, something in the past is realistic, because not only could it happen, but it did happen. I think historical fiction plays on that subconsious acceptance of the past to create a more believable horror.Shawn Robertsonhttp://www.talesofold.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-21326909455712089812011-07-25T07:19:28.019+01:002011-07-25T07:19:28.019+01:00"Humankind cannot bear very much reality"..."Humankind cannot bear very much reality" (Most readers of this blog will recognise the quote - for anyone who does not it comes from TS Eliot - Burnt Norton.)<br />I think that might be the problem. In order to be able to cope with life you have to be able to put a distance between yourself and the disaster. I see it all the time with the people I work with. They have to "switch off" in order to cope with what is going in a disaster zone. It is not that they do not care. They are there because they do care but they have to be able to stand back as well or they end up not being any use to those they are trying to help.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.com