Fiction-o-holic

KUED ran a television miniseries during the last few weeks called Lost in Austen that I quite liked. It's about a young woman, Amanda Price, living in a suburb of modern-day London, who one day discovers Miss Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice in her bathroom. Elizabeth has found a door in her house at Longborn that leads directly into Amanda's house. They end up switching places, and much to Amanda's delight, she learns she has appeared at the beginning of the story. Unfortunately, since she's there and Elizabeth isn't, she ends up messing everything up while she's trying to direct the action. It was a really engaging story, and I was quite satisfied by the ending. And it posed a good question: what do you do when the main character is removed from the story and replaced with someone totally inappropriate?

The other day, I went out to lunch with some coworkers, and they asked what I am reading. Kate had loaned me Enchantment by Orson Scott Card and it's really good! It's about a young man, Ivan, who grows up in Russia during the Cold War, moves to America with his family, and then goes back to Russia to do research for his dissertation on the origin of fairy tales and their relation to life during the 10th Century, then becomes a key player in a fairy tale himself. I'm about halfway through, and it just gets better and better! I have no idea how it's going to end, and that's a rarity for someone who reads and watches as much television as I do. I can predict a lot of endings.

I think my standard of how "good" something is is how much it diverts from the outcome I'm expecting. I like to be surprised! It makes me feel a lot more engaged in the story and characters and appreciate them more.

As I discussed the book with my friends, I realized that Enchanted has similar elements to Lost in Austen. And though both are fantastical stories, I have no trouble accepting them.

Apparently, I'm not a skeptic when it comes to fiction.

For example, the television show LOST was pretty wacky this last season, with a huge plot dealing with time-travel. I thought it odd, but was happy to follow along, and it's even making sense to me. I have no problem with the time-travel element at all. They have some very specific rules... that the characters are trying to foil. But because of those rules I accept the oddness of the situation.

I think one of the reasons I didn't love the Star Trek movie at first is because it didn't follow LOST's rules of time-travel. But upon seeing it again I realize the Star Trek movie does establish and follow its own rules, which frees up that suspension of disbelief so I can just adore the movie and see it as many times as I want...which I no doubt will until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out and I have to see it multiple times...

So, I have surrounded myself with a lot of fiction. I can accept the crazy stuff, but often during my regular life -- like while driving -- I say "really?" all the time. Funny how real life surprises me and causes me to question, but I take fiction in stride. Probably because real life affects me personally. I'm not an outside observer, so I have to be active and can't expect all of the insight to just come to me. Plus, the choices I make affect other people, too, so I can't just do whatever I want willy-nilly. Happily ever after is not guaranteed in real life, unfortunately, no matter how hard you work on it. That doesn't mean there isn't plenty to enjoy though!

What is the point of this blog? I forget. I don't want to make it into a whole "life is like a novel" thing, or explore why I like reading or watching about fictional characters. I simply like to enjoy some quiet time in the midst of my own life adventures.

So, I'll end with a list and let you come to your own conclusions:

1) These are great stories and I am recommending them to you (Lost in Austen is available on DVD!)
2) I like rules,
3) I read and watch a lot of fiction,
4) I like stories with great characters that feel familiar and yet surprise me,
5) Mixing or reinventing well-known stories can be cool and interesting,
6) Reading about quiet times in a novel is boring, while quiet times when reading a novel is preferable,
and
7) Real life is probably stranger than fiction because I have to participate.

The End.