Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.
Let’s Talk Bookish January 19th:
Seeing the Real World Through Books
Prompts: Many fiction books have messages about social issues, current events, and more. Some are underlying themes, and others are much more overt. Are you more drawn to books that dive into these serious topics, or do you prefer to have fiction be more of an escape from the world? What are some novels that have impacted you? What do you think are the most effective ways for authors to get their messages across?
I find myself drawn more to books that dive into various topics and the themes mentioned in the prompts, definitely. Sometimes I pick up a book I think might be a ‘light escape’, and though it may not be ‘heavy’ as such, it might still touch upon certain issues, even if on the face of it, it seems like a cute fluffy romance – I think when done well, that can be really effective too, especially if the themes reveal themselves naturally through the characters.
Part of reading fiction is learning to see the eyes through others – it’s why I never understand people who say they can’t ‘connect’ to a character because they have a different gender, race, sexuality, etc. Sorry, but if you can’t connect to a character because of a factor like that, that’s completely on you. It’s part of the beauty of fiction, and learning about the world or other perspectives or social issues of the day is part of what makes the ability to read these books absolutely wonderful.
In My Throat is an Open Grave, we see the effects of patriarchal religion on a small town and the girls and young women who live there. Girl, Goddess, Queen tackles similar issues but in a very different way. Similarly, The Supreme Lie and Perilous Times both present dystopian countries impacted by climate change and the ruling elite who try so hard to control the ‘people’ they’re supposed to be serving. Something I have noticed, too, is how romance can be such a great vehicle for certain issues and topics – again, when authors can do it well, it slips in and comes out through the characters. The Christmas Swap has a MC who is dealing with the aftereffects of a toxic relationship. My current audio read, Welcome Me to Willoughby Close sees the MC beginning to understand how relative ‘normal’ is, and how she isn’t alone with the issues she’s dealt with in the past through various characters, we see how mental illness in a parent can impact a child, similarly with alcoholism and drug addiction, and the importance of connection and community in order to heal.
The Hate U Give and The Black Kids both deal with racism, police brutality and more in a different ways, but both are memorable, significant books because of the topics they deal with and the way they’re dealt with in the book. I do think most the books I read that have a strong impact on me are the ones that reflect and highlight issues we currently face in society, no matter where or when they’re set.
I think the most effective ways authors convey their themes and topics comes from allowing them to show these through their characters, rather than telling us, as readers, about the situation and how we should be feeling about it. Horror does this often, using horror as a vehicle to reflect bigotry, abuse, toxicity, and so on. The books mentioned above aren’t memorable because they tackle these themes, but because they give us realistic, well thought out characters who experience these situations, allowing us to experience it as well – they show, instead of tell, and allow the themes to naturally emerge from the characters, their experiences, and the plot.
What are your thoughts – do you like books that tackle various social themes, do you balance these with more ‘escapist’ fiction? Are there particular books you think tackle these sort of themes really well?
Unwrapping Words 