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unlovelyladybartleby t1_jcg4c9p wrote

I think a good book will be relatable even if the reader has no shared or relevant experience. So maybe it's just a shitty book?

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JohnTaylorson OP t1_jcgac8y wrote

Aye, that's the size if it. Good intentions or not, at the end of the day, a shitty book is just a shitty book.

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DafnissM t1_jcgal7r wrote

Yes, the relatability of something does not depend on the gender or race of characters, but in the ability of the author to make them emulate real human emotions.

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Character_Vapor t1_jcn0vmw wrote

But reading is not necessarily a passive experience, either. The reader has to be willing to put in the work as well.

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NebXan t1_jcg9u19 wrote

Exactly this. I'd hold up Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart as an example of a book that's especially impressive in this regard.

The ideas woven into the story are universally accessible, so anyone who reads it can "get" what it's about, and it accomplishes this while still remaining an authentic expression of the author's lived experiences.

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