I was about to pick up house in the Cerulean sea and a few of TJ klunes other books that I own and of course he’s problematic. It has to do with the 60s scoop that involved Native Americans and what horrible things happen to them. My father being a part of that as a Native American himself and a young teen when it happened. He basically used a traumatic time in history as inspiration for his story house in the Cerulean sea. Which is not okay and he’s coming out with a second book to that one next year. I don’t think the publishers should be going forward with this next book but of course they will cuz it’s going to make them money. Should I now tell people the talk about this book but he’s problematic and after that let them do their own research or not say anything?
I read the book earlier this year and I enjoyed it. I didn’t even know it was regarding the 60’s scoop or Indigenous People until I read about the backlash online afterwards. I personally thought it was about discrimination based around something we can’t control, such as being queer, or born with a specific skintone, etc.
Please read the Reddit post “In Defence of T.J. Klune and The House in the Cerulean Sea (and Also a Review)”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/s/li41oCqsoo
It describes exactly the sentiment you’re trying to make but explains why it’s not the case way better than I ever can.
Ive already pre-ordered my copy of the sequel.
There is no such thing as “problematic”. Do you need someone’s approval to enjoy something? I certainly don’t.
Well I don’t want to harm people by the things that I read but that’s just me I can’t speak for everybody else
How exactly do you harm anyone by reading a book? Please describe the process, do not use the buzz words.
I have no idea what buzzwords you’re talking about so I don’t know how I could explain it to you without the buzzwords
But nobody needs to know what you read!
Yes but what’s the point of reading books if you can’t share it with other people your love and sometimes dislike and discuss it with others that’s the only thing
Specifically how would you be harming people by reading this book?
I think the reason people are guessing you’re a teenager is that you come across as though you haven’t actually formed any opinions on the topics you’re talking about. Rather, you appear to be doing your best to adopt and comply with other people’s opinions.
Because if you read these people’s works and support them by doing so it’s almost like you believe what they’re saying or you have the same beliefs as them and that’s not good
This post feels like a marketing ploy to bring more exposure to the book
My apologies I don’t work for him and I would never try to Market something that people say is harmful
Do you believe everything that people say?
No I most certainly don’t
Then why do you believe that a book is harmful when you’ve never read it?
Because I’m choosing to listen to people who have said they were harmed by his book people that actually come from that background and if we didn’t listen to them their voices would never be heard
“I was about to pick up house in the Cerulean sea and a few of TJ klunes other books that I own and of course he’s problematic”
That literally was fabricated as far as I remember, like many “problematic” things people have done. Before hating on someone people really need to do some serious research before jumping on the hate bandwagon.
“He basically used a traumatic time in history as inspiration for his story house in the Cerulean sea”
He didn’t. He literally just said he encountered this story while researching for his book, the plot was already plotted, the books was already being written, he didn’t start making up the story from reading about them. My god.
Well thank you for sharing
I actively avoid learning about authors, actors or other artists/celebrities. It just makes it easier to separate the art from the artist.
A lot of people not me will tell you that you can’t do that at least that’s what I’ve been told a lot of times you can’t separate the two
I agree, it’s hard to support someone that you think is a horrible human, that is why I actively try to stay ignorant about what they say and do in their personal lives. I limit my news and my social media which really helps. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid information, but I’ve been doing this for years so I’m pretty good at it. I didn’t even read your post, just the title.
This may seem naive, but having been an activist for decades I’ve learned to filter what I choose to expose myself to and what I deem unimportant to stay current on. There is only so much empathy I have to give to the world so I choose to give it to a few select causes and simply ignore the rest. This was something I had to do to protect myself after getting very burnt out about 5 years into my activist journey.
Thank you for this very helpful comment and I might have to start doing this myself
It takes practice. I’m a retired Life Coach and editing media was always a part of my programs. Like any other habit, there will be times when you feel you are doing it well and times when you fall back into old patterns. Your priorities will change over time as well, so just make choices that help you feel better as often as you can and over time it will become easier.
Will do and I think that happens to the best of us but if we stick to it things should get better
It’s called separating the art from the artist.
Or, you know, you can also just choose to let the left dictate what you can and cannot enjoy. Doesn’t sound like a fun path but it’s the one you’re choosing
-
Please don’t use “problematic” when you mean “racist”.
-
There’s a lot of discourse surrounding this novel in particular and its weird-ass inspiration. You are not the only vector for this information. If you think it’s necessary and you can make your point clearly, by all means, do so, but also, relax. Nobody is going to yell at you if you decide not to–at least, nobody worth taking seriously.
Thank you and I’m sorry I should have put that instead my apologies
-
I think there’s a lot of value in books that present a thoughtful narrative about learning from the mistakes made but after a very quick google because of your post, that isn’t the case here. I’m glad to know this and will pass on the book.
It makes me think of a fairly recent issue with a book in my home. Our Ontario school boards have changed the 11th grade mandatory English to “Indigenous Voices”. So poems, songs and novels by Indigenous creators, reflecting their culture etc. My son was working on questions for The Diary of a Part Time Indian and asked for my opinion on something. Not sure either we googled and it turns out the author was reported for sexual harassment by 10 women https://www.npr.org/2018/03/05/589909379/it-just-felt-very-wrong-sherman-alexies-accusers-go-on-the-record
I did mention it in passing when I saw the teacher next (kid gets extra spec Ed support so we talk) but that’s about it.
I did use the opportunity to have a discussion with my then 16 yo son. One of many since he’s all OMG you’ve already said this lol. Good dude consent is #1.
So I hear you on how do you approach talking about these things. I am not Indigenous and I don’t want to insert myself but as a woman I had thoughts. Son 2 will be in this course next semester so I’ll know then if they picked a different book.
Sorry to add I wrote the title of the book incorrectly. It’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
I don’t know anything about the book. What specifically about the book is problematic to you? Did you read the book, like it, and then change your mind when someone else told you it’s problematic? It very well may be but I would hope you could make your own mind about it and explain why.
He basically used a traumatic time in history as inspiration for his story house in the Cerulean sea. Which is not okay
Personally, I think he should have been clear from the get-go about the inspiration.Traumatic events in history should be discussed and sometimes dealing with them in a less than direct manner (i.e. a speculative fiction inspired by) makes that discussion easier.
You make a fair point I can see what you’re saying here
Sometimes you just have to separate the artist from the art. You can acknowledge that the art is good and maybe the person behind it is just so-so. If you find they are too problematic to support, buy their books second hand if you still want to read them. People are not perfect and art is created from all different sources. I feel this is true through lots of art scenes, especially in music.
A lot of people would tell you that you can’t do that even though at least that’s what a few people on book talk were saying last night
It is so easy to be seen as problematic these days. Everything we say and do is put on the internet for thousands to see. If you scrutinize someone’s life you’re likely to find things you don’t agree with. No one is perfect. That goes for artists of all types. I’m not saying what is going on with TJ Klune is right or wrong. But you can certainly choose how you support people you think are problematic. Buying second hand books doesn’t support the author at all and I think if you are worried about it, learning about the history that surrounds the story is another good step. Make yourself aware of that history and if you feel compelled to do something in support of that history all the better.
You don’t have to deny yourself good art because the artist is problematic. Maybe just be more conscious of how you support them and the history around their stories.
I actually did not like this book very much (it was too twee for my taste, and felt like a weird mashup of a children’s and an adult-targeted book), but this is a ridiculous complaint. If you’re finding that all the authors you like are “problematic,” my sense from this post is that you’re probably looking very hard for reasons to cancel them and creating your own sense of disappointment. It read like more of an allegory for queerness than anything else; if it was inspired by this history, the final product is so far removed from it that I would never have guessed. In any case, it sounds like he’s been forthright and apologetic to the extent that he even needs to be. I’ll third the suggestion that you read this post and think about how making accusatory posts like this can be harmful to authors’ mental health.
The reason I’m finding authors problematic is because a majority of people are telling me they are and the reasons why like the incident with TJ klune I didn’t know he was problematic until someone pointed it out and gave me the resources to do my research and find out for myself why and thank you I have checked out the post and I have seen what the person had to say and it gave me a lot to think about
Or you could stop giving a shit what other people think, read what you want, and come to your own conclusions?
Fair Point thank you
That would be too much brain power and critical thinking skills that not everyone possess.
I think the only thing that needs to be retired is the use of the word problematic in this kind of context, along with the virtue signalling pitchforks.
I will remember this for next time thank you
next time I’ll be less uncivil. :)
Is that you saying you’re going to be rude next time
It does my head in. I feel like I’m living in a totally different reality to young people who get their language and personal opinions from TikTok and social media. Fuck, the poor things are desperately stressed from plugging themselves into that system.
I completely agree.
Here’s an example of a poor young person in mental anguish trying to deal with that system: https://www.reddit.com/r/socialjustice101/s/dmrl3w8xuj
I’d suggest you read Imogen, obviously instead. It’s a teen book but I enjoyed it and I think you could have some insights with it.
Thank you I’ll check that out