Upcoming Books Thread (one only right now)

[Skelly Craig]

There's a new interview from today, where Handler briefly mentioned the topic of his (actually) next book:

I: What’s next for Lemony Snicket and/or Daniel Handler?
D: I am finishing a book about sex, but that is even more difficult to talk about in front of my dancing sister.

Well this might be interesting. I remember reading that Handler's early poetry also often revolved around the same topic.

[B.]

Aug 28, 2015 11:19:36 GMT -5 Skelly Craig said:

There's a new interview from today, where Handler briefly mentioned the topic of his (actually) next book:

I: What’s next for Lemony Snicket and/or Daniel Handler?
D: I am finishing a book about sex, but that is even more difficult to talk about in front of my dancing sister.

Well this might be interesting. I remember reading that Handler's early poetry also often revolved around the same topic.

That's interesting, and I'm looking forward to it (let's hope it doesn't take another 10 years to be published...) It actually just occurred to me now how often the theme of sex comes up in Handler's work. His adult works (Watch your Mouth in particular) stand out the most, but even asoue has vague sexual undertones sometimes. In fact I think the books that most have the absence of this motif are currently ATWQ.

[J-Bird]

ATWQ, somewhat akin to KidzBop, is about kids and for kids. Perhaps Handler knows his audience well enough, and 11-12 is pretty young for kids, even like that, to make allusions to sex. Just a thought.

[bandit]

Lemony is confused about his feelings for Ellington but once uses his appeal to lure her into an interrogation. (The hay ride in SYBIS)

[zakeno]

Romantic overtones ≠ sexual ones though. The hay ride thing in SYBIS felt very much like a typical middle school pseudo-romantic encounter turned on its head, and I imagine DH meant it that way.

I think it's good to keep sexual tones out of children's series like ATWQ or ASOUE, anyway, aside from maybe very very vague mentions or allusions clearly only for adult readers and only of adult characters. Otherwise it can get really creepy real fast (I even feel Violet being called 'pretty' so often by villains in ASOUE was sometimes borderline, especially contextually).

But hopefully DH does well with that new book! Though I probably won't be particularly interested in it personally.

[Dante]

I think the creepy sexual overtones in ASoUE were clearly relevant to the series's gothic roots, though. Whereas there's expected to be a bit more parity between the characters in noir fiction.

I wonder if the new book will be a novel. For some reason the vibe I'm getting is more "How To Dress For Every Occasion by The Pope."

[gliquey]

Aug 28, 2015 23:06:23 GMT -5 zakeno said:

Romantic overtones ≠ sexual ones though. The hay ride thing in SYBIS felt very much like a typical middle school pseudo-romantic encounter turned on its head, and I imagine DH meant it that way.

Absolutely. Kids are brought up with a strong concept of romance from an early age - for example, with all kinds of clichéd movies, stories and fairy tales with handsome princes and beautiful princesses in love with each other. They understand this in its own right, without needing to know about sexual activity. The way I see the relationship between Lemony and Ellington, only romantic overtones apply.

(I even feel Violet being called 'pretty' so often by villains in ASOUE was sometimes borderline, especially contextually).

Oh, I think it definitely bordered on pedophilia*, but only with hindsight. I might read about TBB being banned in a school library for the incestuous overtones and instinctively tut, thinking it's ridiculous, but if I think carefully I can see valid reasons for that happening. It went completely over my head at the age of 7/8 though. For instance, while the scene where Violet imagines waking up to Count Olaf every day seems a bit iffy in hindsight - they're making readers picture a 14 year old sleeping in the same bed as their adult husband - all I would have understood from it would be 'Count Olaf says he will let Violet live if his plan succeeds'. The same is true with when Count Olaf talks about leaving Violet alive when he's in the car with all the villains (at the start of TCC?), and of all the times Violet is called 'pretty' by an adult villain.

*If I'm pedantic, it's probably more along the lines of 'hebephilia', as 'pedophilia' is generally attraction to pre-pubescent children and in medical contexts, sexual attraction to a 14 year old can't be called pedophilia. But I feel like this isn't a normal thing to point out, and this is a forum read by children, so I'm just going to end this note here.

[zakeno]

Aug 29, 2015 14:16:36 GMT -5 gliquey said:

Oh, I think it definitely bordered on pedophilia*, but only with hindsight. I might read about TBB being banned in a school library for the incestuous overtones and instinctively tut, thinking it's ridiculous, but if I think carefully I can see valid reasons for that happening. It went completely over my head at the age of 7/8 though. For instance, while the scene where Violet imagines waking up to Count Olaf every day seems a bit iffy in hindsight - they're making readers picture a 14 year old sleeping in the same bed as their adult husband - all I would have understood from it would be 'Count Olaf says he will let Violet live if his plan succeeds'. The same is true with when Count Olaf talks about leaving Violet alive when he's in the car with all the villains (at the start of TCC?), and of all the times Violet is called 'pretty' by an adult villain. *If I'm pedantic, it's probably more along the lines of 'hebephilia', as 'pedophilia' is generally attraction to pre-pubescent children and in medical contexts, sexual attraction to a 14 year old can't be called pedophilia. But I feel like this isn't a normal thing to point out, and this is a forum read by children, so I'm just going to end this note here.

Well I definitely don't think it should be banned for having these things in them, though my rule for banning books is usually 'common sense', don't put Fifty Shades in a K-8 library-type things. Haha. Anything else feels a little overly protective.

But I def caught on to it when I was younger (but I had a close friend from 3rd-5th grade who was sexually abused by an older family member so I was somewhat savvy to dangerous sounding stuff like that even then). But yeah, it definitely goes over most kids heads. I personally don't think it's bad to have it in there, since it's handled tastefully enough, it's just a bit sickening. If it were pushed any more I think it would have become problematic, but as it was I think it worked alongside all the other treacherous things that happened in the series. But it was definitely there, no doubt about it. And it still makes me feel uncomfy to ready those bits.

[Hermes]

The really weird thing is its being banned for incest (and I believe that did indeed happen); apparently for some people the worrying thing is not that Violet is fourteen, but that she and Olaf are fourth cousins three times removed.

On thing that's a particular giveaway is when Fernald says 'Yes, boss, I know she's yours'.

[bandit]

Although it's likely that Olaf lied about being a cousin, I think the incest concerns are more about how Violet would be both his husband and his adopted daughter.

[zakeno]

Yeah, as bandit put it, I'm sure the banning for incest was for the whole guardian/husband thing. Quite icky.

[Skelly Craig]

Well it is a part of Gothic literature, and I think it was handled pretty well. The marriage is presented as Olaf finding a loophole in the justice system to get the Baudelaire fortune, and only slightly older teenagers and adults will also understand the possibility of an incestual subtext (and notice a vague hint like the one Hermes mentioned).

[Dante]

This presumably came out seven months ago and I forgot about it:

A Contribution to: Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels
Cover:

Release Date: 2nd June 2015 (Drawn & Quarterly) (Source)
Details: An essay contributing to the general retrospective on the past twenty-five years of cartooning. Snicket's involvement is mentioned here.

Also, see my new thread for information about Goldfish Ghost, which has taken the slot of a previously untitled picture book on the upcoming list.

Dec 14, 2006 7:06:59 GMT -5 Dante said:

Title: Goldfish Ghost
Illustrator: Lisa Brown
Release Date: Spring 2017 (Source)
Details: Concerns "a diminutive ghost finding his place in an all too solid world." (Source) Probably the same as described here: "I’m working on a book with my wife (illustrator Lisa Brown). [...] It’s a picture book, and it means she has to do more of the work than I do — which is the kind of collaboration I’m totally comfortable with." (Source)

[Skelly Craig]

Lookin' forward to that essay! Drawn and Quarterly are awesome indeed.

[Dante]

A recent interview tells us a little more about Mr. Handler's upcoming projects:

Goldfish Ghost is a picture book telling the story of the ghost of a goldfish, who wanders lonely and upside down looking for company. There are a couple of other picture books in the works as well, and a YA novel that contains a great deal of sex and is thus making my publisher very nervous.

This is the second time he's mentioned that YA book, incidentally. I wonder how it will compare to his last sex-themed book, Watch Your Mouth, in which a golem arose from the mud to kill everyone about halfway through the novel.