You know when you're reading a novel (which if you are Steph Bowe is more often than not*) and it's pretty good so far, but then the love interest has to show up? And then it's all downhill from there?
This is usually the worst part of the whole book because nine times out of ten instead of being described normally like a normal character, they are described in ridiculous hyperbole. They are breathtakingly and arrestingly and unfathomably beautiful. They are the most attractive person the protagonist has ever seen.
They are so otherworldly in their beauty, in fact, that everyone in their immediate vicinity stops and stares at them. NO. NO. A MILLION TIMES NO. I don't even care if they are from another world.
Why? Can't they just love normal-looking people? Isn't how attractive people are a fairly subjective thing? I know that people in movies and on TV are really, ridiculously good-looking but when you are writing a book the people can look however you say they look. So why make them generic hotties? Really? Wouldn't it be so much more interesting in your world of amazingly gorgeous folks if the love interest wasn't just one step of hotness above everyone else?
Why aren't there more average-looking paranormal creatures, really? It's all either tall, broad-shouldered super-babes or really evil ugly ones (as if ugly somehow equates to innate evil. How does that work? Does that seem illogical and kind of offensive to you? Those poor Orcs probably weren't even bad guys).
The profundity of people's love is not based on how ridiculously attractive they are, as far as I know.** Always, in these books, it's like they're reincarnated soul mates or magical partners in crime or at the very least they're gonna get married because they have some profound bond. Is them being the most attractive person ever to have lived really necessary if they're soul mates?
(Imagine if you lived in a world actually populated by the characters of these novels. It'd just be all redheads and seventeen-year-olds and people with creepy-coloured eyes and overly muscled immortals. I mean, really. What a nightmare. I'm confident I could be the dorky best friend of the gorgeous-but-doesn't-know-she's-gorgeous protagonist, and then conveniently disappear once the other main characters show up.)
Writers of future YA novels: please don't make the love interest the most attractive person on planet earth. It's not necessary. Especially if it's all about ~true love~. Because it's blind, guys. Haven't you ever seen a romantic comedy? (In which all of the characters are really, ridiculously good-looking, of course.)
*I am hoping to evolve past the need for sleep because I feel like that
third of my life could be put towards better use i.e. reading***
**Maybe I'm wrong and us normal-looking folks aren't particularly loveable. I'm going to go and adopt a cat now.
***I'm kidding. You need your sleep, kids.
I've been trying to evolve past sleep for years. Not. Working.
ReplyDeleteBut when I saw the title of this post, I though I'm going to like it... It was great! And yes, those poor orcs. Misunderstood because they weren't drop dead gorgeous. I like a book with a good dumping of reality, but I understand why people write wildly improbable stuff all the time. Still, gives us ugly ducklings a feel-good moment if not everyone in YA is out-of-this-world (literally) beautiful.
Thank you! I do understand people like books to be far more fantastic than reality, but it's boring that everyone's so beautiful all the time!
DeleteI enjoyed your post. Not to cast a shadow, but I've been asking the same questions for at least 20 years. Not about the orcs, though. Orcs aren't misjudged; they wreck things! Just take this as a spur to NOT write it that way in your own books.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Orcs are pretty bad. But I'm sure there are plenty of other monsters that are just misunderstood!
DeleteThe poor orcs! And all this time, just because they were clumsy, Sauron could control them... It's terrible. Shameful. But then Hobbits weren't supposed to be brilliantly gorgeous, and they're basically the main characters.
ReplyDeleteI think people like evil to be hideous, because it's easy to see, and they don't feel bad about killing it. Ah, literary beauty. It puts us mere mortals to shame. :)
I love hobbits! There should be more short, hairy-footed protagonists in stories.
DeleteI love this post, so true I loathe reading YA novels and the protagonist generally falls for the dashing, hot boy and the protagonist is normally average, and looks also relates as well to lack of diversity in YA books, as a writer of color I would love to read the dashing boy that is a different ethnicity, but the reality is its what sells in the market as of late.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Almost all central characters (especially the girl-who-doesn't-know-she's-ridiculously-beautiful) & love interests seem to be white, and have perfect pale complexions? Like really? There are that many super-pale people in the world? I think that's a way in which novels need to be more representative of reality.
DeleteTHANK YOU! Oh my gosh, this drives me absolutely crazy! I touched on the subject in my Jane Eyre review and in this Jane Eyre forum-thingy on Goodreads... Jane's love interest, Mr. Rochester, was described as ugly, yet he's my favorite love interest. It was his personality that made so swoon-worthy and odd. His imperfections made me like him.
ReplyDeleteAnd these *perfect* love interests aren't even that great. I don't care how hot they are; they are often annoying and sometimes even rude.
Anyway, thanks for posting this. Now I know I'm not alone and crazy when I wonder about this.
You're not crazy unless I'm also crazy!
DeleteJane and Mr Rochester = Way truer love than loving someone because they are just super hot & you are somehow supernaturally destined to be together.
The idea that the good guys are beautiful and the bad guys are ugly comes from the Grimm Brothers and the fairy tales before them, so you're going against centuries of tales with this type of mentality.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree that this profound bond you speak of, cemented in physical attraction, is ridiculous. I hope to see YA books that stray away from this.
I know, it's the literary tradition! It's still annoyingly simplistic. (Though it annoys me more when the stupidly attractive love interest is ALSO the bad guy. Too much of that in YA!)
DeleteI SO agree with this. One thing that bugs me the most is that these love interests are described like they're perfect human beings, right after the protagonist has taken the time to be all "Whoa as me I'm so average no one will ever love me" and then for the rest of the book we have to hear the protagonist's inner monologue about how they can't believe this "God of a human being" has fallen in love with THEM. Ugh. It's SO annoying. Especially since love should be based on personality, not looks. If it's all about the looks, that's just superficial love that will never last. Authors need to work on being more realistic! Not everyone looks like a model. *eye roll*
ReplyDeleteThat is so annoying! Why do all the female protagonists have to hate how they look? And they're supposed to be ridiculously attractive but they just don't know it? It's okay for people to be average-looking, and it's okay for teenage girls to like how they look! And in the real world lots of people are loved without having to be conventionally attractive! AHHH books are so silly sometimes.
DeleteI think a lot of YA romance writers do the "perfect world" thing because they think that's what people want. It probably IS what a lot of people want. And with the love interest, I guess most writers want the reader to be attracted to him (or her).
ReplyDeleteBut I remember reading Simone Howell's book 'Everything Beautiful' (I think - I'm bad at remembering book names, I remember what the cover looks like). It was an automatic "wow, this is amazing", simply because it was so different and felt real, like the story could be happening write now. 'Girl Saves Boy' was similar, and for some reason it just made the romance seem more beautiful.
Thank you! I LOVED the romance in Everything Beautiful because it wasn't looks-based, and seemed so much more genuine as a result. :)
DeleteJust in case you haven't heard of it before, you might be interested in a story called The Last Ringbearer, which is about the situation in the Lord Of The Rings from the point of view of the orcs. The English translation of it is distributed free. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer
ReplyDelete