I'm reading "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop... and the writing is terrible. Did nobody notice before it got published?

Even if you don’t appreciate the writing quality, others may. And good writing is not the only reason to read a book. Maybe you can look past the writing and find some things to enjoy.

such a good question!!

Interesting question!. I thought the same thing. Fascinating story, shitty narrative and bad use of English and terrible editing.

@TheIncomparableBenziniBrothers Exactly how is anyone supposed to appreciate the writing quality if it is terrible? Bad use of language is bad use of language. It is not a question of appreciating it or not. It is an embarrassment to the editors and the author.

I think you hit it on the nail with your last sentence. The book is going to sell because of its content, not its writing style, and so there’s not much of a return to be had on investing time in wordsmithing.

@TheIncomparableBenziniBrothers: I am still reading it. The content is enough to keep me reading… twisted ways of thinking keep me entertained enough.

Even critically acclaimed writers can be ”staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad.”

Much less attention is paid now than formerly to the quality of writing and the process of editing. I believe that fewer and fewer readers can tell the difference; people in general are too poorly educated to recognize a good sentence or think that grammar matters, and if you do write (or speak) eloquently, using words that are not in the sixth-grade vocabulary list, some percentage of lowbrows will sneer, “Can’t you speak English?” Those of us who treasure fine literary craftsmanship are too few to count.

The publisher does not care whether you like the book. The publisher does not care whether you read the book. The publisher cares only that you buy the book.

The writing is probably horrible because Carolyn Jessop (like probably most girls within the FLDS cult) never received an education beyond the primary school equivalent. The editors may have retained the original writing style to enhance or delineate the message of the book, being (I assume) that the FLDS cult is a backwards and repressive facet of American culture.

@Holden: Actually, she graduated college in 1989 and was a public school teacher.

@poofandmook shows how much I know.

@poofandmook: I’m still trying to figure out why people think Hemmingway is a literary genius.

I haven’t read Jessop’s book, but I’ve noticed in a number of contemporary non-fiction books that the writing is sub-par. My theory is that they rush the writing, and shortcut the editing process so they can rush the books into print. They want the books published while the news stories are fresh in people’s minds.

@katawaGrey I never read Hemingway until I was in my 40s, so I didn’t have any bad high school English class experiences to bias my thinking against him. I’ve found his writing to be really enjoyable. The imagery and descriptions are wonderful. Not that I’ve read much of his stuff—maybe some of it is worse than others.

@Gundark: My problem with his writing is that there is zero emotion. It’s like a robot knew how to replicate good writing, but not the feeling behind it. I read A Farewell to Arms and it had the potential to be all sorts of got wrenching. Instead, I was struck by how callously it was written.

@KatawaGrey I’ll have to consider that if I read any more of his stuff. Thanks for sharing your point of view.

I suppose whether you like an author’s writing depends to some degrees on what you’re expecting to be present in the writing. That seems to be the case with you and Hemingway. Of course, it may be simply that what you were looking for wasn’t what the author intended to convey, or that he conveyed it in a way that you weren’t looking for.

Sometimes the non-conventional, un-looked for point of view or presentation is exactly what makes great writing great. If writing conveys exactly what people are expecting, in a way they are expecting to see it, some might think that kind of writing unexceptional. A fresh point of view can be very valuable and thought provoking.