Joan Smith reviews the new JK Rowling novel:
Like its predecessor, The Ink Black Heart is a doorstopper, giving Rowling space to explore the psychology of individuals who abuse women online, but it is evidence of her ingenuity as a writer that this intention only gradually becomes clear.
…
“He’s convinced people I worked as a prostitute when I was broke,” Edie tells Robin. “He sent me pictures of my dead mother, claiming I told lies about her death. And the fandom believes all of it, and they attack me for stuff I’ve never done, never said, things I don’t believe.” The final sentence is not just heartfelt, it could be Rowling speaking about herself after a couple of years of persecution by individuals posting wild misrepresentations of her work and views online.
It could be many many other women, too.
Comments
2 responses to “The fandom believes all of it”
I’ve never read Rowling, but this sounds like one I might pick up.
I gave up on Harry Potter before I finished the first. Maybe at 50 I wasn’t the target market, but the Cormoran Strike novels are well worth the read. Apart from the contrived first meeting of the two protagonists*, the developing relationship is interesting itself, apart from the stories.
I am certainly looking forward to this new one.
*OK, it’s fiction, everything is contrived. :-)