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We hear this time to time: story is everything; story trumps everything else.
While I think there's truth in it -- if the story doesn't interest me or the plot doesn't string me along, I probably wouldn't finish reading the book -- I think there's more to it.
For me, the story is only half-done if I don't care about the characters, if they're just cardboard cutouts, replaceable parts. Don't get me wrong; I'd probably still enjoy the story but it wouldn't be memorable. As exciting as Jurassic Park was, it was memorable because I came to care about Grant, Malcolm, Hammond, et el., and they do interesting things.
Also, what makes a book memorable to me are usually specific scenes -- scenes so breathtaking that they lodged in my brain. Often than not when I mention a book I liked, I can recall the general synopsis/outline of the story (sometimes not even that) but I can always remember specific scenes, and more often than not, they're tied to how I felt about the characters in those scenes. Beginnings and endings are specific "scenes" that many people do remember, and they sometimes either make or break a book.
In the best books, everything works together and the story is the sum of all parts. But looking back on all the books I've read and enjoyed and remembered, I'd single out "great characters doing interesting things" as what really makes a book special to me.
Any thoughts?
While I think there's truth in it -- if the story doesn't interest me or the plot doesn't string me along, I probably wouldn't finish reading the book -- I think there's more to it.
For me, the story is only half-done if I don't care about the characters, if they're just cardboard cutouts, replaceable parts. Don't get me wrong; I'd probably still enjoy the story but it wouldn't be memorable. As exciting as Jurassic Park was, it was memorable because I came to care about Grant, Malcolm, Hammond, et el., and they do interesting things.
Also, what makes a book memorable to me are usually specific scenes -- scenes so breathtaking that they lodged in my brain. Often than not when I mention a book I liked, I can recall the general synopsis/outline of the story (sometimes not even that) but I can always remember specific scenes, and more often than not, they're tied to how I felt about the characters in those scenes. Beginnings and endings are specific "scenes" that many people do remember, and they sometimes either make or break a book.
In the best books, everything works together and the story is the sum of all parts. But looking back on all the books I've read and enjoyed and remembered, I'd single out "great characters doing interesting things" as what really makes a book special to me.
Any thoughts?