Jun 22, 2022Liked by Rachel Baker & Maggie Bullock
Again! So much good stuff to read! And think about! And be grateful for! That last one refers to the lovely call-out about my knee-related sartorial advice in this week's HNTFUYF.
I thought of you guys when I wrote it, vaguely remembering that one or both of you enjoys a good caftan. Maybe it's the one of you who's covering two human bodies under her dress? Anyway, thanks again and always from your devoted old reader from the second wave. xo
Jun 22, 2022Liked by Rachel Baker & Maggie Bullock
In the history of lit crit, THIS TAKES THE CAKE!!
"Jane Austen died 204 years ago. But don’t tell that to the people who are pissed to see a tentpole of the Austen oeuvre besmirched by one Dakota Johnson. Daring to recast Persuasion as a comedy? NO thank you! Netflix has only released the trailer of this adaptation so far, enough to showcase a “Fleabag meets empire waistlines” sensibility, according to Harper’s Bazaar. But among Austenites—who demand historical accuracy and fealty to the original text above all else—the torches are lit, and the marches are scheduled. Cue the tweetstorm: “Oh no the Persuasion remake thinks it can be wittier than Austen. Big mistake. Huge,” wrote critic Hillary Kelly. “Persuasion has some of the best writing in the English language and this is. Content,” says novelist Brandon Taylor. (Brandon, you had us at “content.” Nothing fans the flames of our rage like that word.)
Real talk: Will we be tuning in to see Dakota’s curtain bangs on Anne Elliot’s humble brow? Of course. If only to be able to fully wrap our arms around the backlash. For now, we’ll simply offer a curtsy with some side-eye and mark our calendars for July 15."
Again! So much good stuff to read! And think about! And be grateful for! That last one refers to the lovely call-out about my knee-related sartorial advice in this week's HNTFUYF.
I thought of you guys when I wrote it, vaguely remembering that one or both of you enjoys a good caftan. Maybe it's the one of you who's covering two human bodies under her dress? Anyway, thanks again and always from your devoted old reader from the second wave. xo
In the history of lit crit, THIS TAKES THE CAKE!!
"Jane Austen died 204 years ago. But don’t tell that to the people who are pissed to see a tentpole of the Austen oeuvre besmirched by one Dakota Johnson. Daring to recast Persuasion as a comedy? NO thank you! Netflix has only released the trailer of this adaptation so far, enough to showcase a “Fleabag meets empire waistlines” sensibility, according to Harper’s Bazaar. But among Austenites—who demand historical accuracy and fealty to the original text above all else—the torches are lit, and the marches are scheduled. Cue the tweetstorm: “Oh no the Persuasion remake thinks it can be wittier than Austen. Big mistake. Huge,” wrote critic Hillary Kelly. “Persuasion has some of the best writing in the English language and this is. Content,” says novelist Brandon Taylor. (Brandon, you had us at “content.” Nothing fans the flames of our rage like that word.)
Real talk: Will we be tuning in to see Dakota’s curtain bangs on Anne Elliot’s humble brow? Of course. If only to be able to fully wrap our arms around the backlash. For now, we’ll simply offer a curtsy with some side-eye and mark our calendars for July 15."