Sir Kazuo Ishiguro Makes a Stand

It’s worrying that this is happening. More established authors can tell the online mob to do one (See also, J K Rowling). Less established writers have been known to bow to the mob. I recall a young woman, Amélie Wen Zhao, who had written a fantasy novel involving an enslaved princess who withdrew it because the twatterati got all offended and started blathering on about that made-up offence of cultural appropriation. She caved, unfortunately and withdrew what would have been her debut novel.

I’m old enough and tough enough to do my own thing. Like Kazuo Ishiguro, I will write about whoever I like from whatever perspective I like – I’ve written first person narrative from a female perspective and one of my characters is half Comanche another is the personification of Death, whereas I am still very much alive, nor am I half Comanche and I am not female. It’s what writers do, they imagine.

I’m inspired to start writing about a female pirate in the late 17th Century. I’ve never been on a sailing vessel, I’ve never been to the Caribbean and I’ve never engaged in piracy. Likewise, I have made a start on a story set against the American Civil war. There are black characters in it. I make no apology for doing so.

12 Comments

  1. Totally agree with you LR. We must stand up the these arseholes who want to censor us or rewrite our history. I am very proud to be a white Englishman and certainly won’t be taking the knee or suchlike to anyone.

  2. The end result of this madness will be the death of the historical, fantasy, and science fiction genres as it will be unacceptable for authors to write anything outside their own lived experience. Given the disdain many leftists have for these genres maybe that is the goal…

  3. I’m pretty sure that there was a fairly famous female pirate but I can’t remember where I heard or read about her. Pete Sinfield realised that pirates were really vile people while doing research to write the lyrics to the ELP prog epic ‘Pirates’. The nautical equivalent of the Kray Twins I think was how he described them. So the song was declared to be a metaphor for rock bands on tour. Pirates is one of my favourite songs but I have to be in the right mood to listen to it as, in the prog tradition, it is about fifteen minutes long.

  4. I love, love, love Ishiguro’s books. He is extraordinary in that no two are alike in subject matter or style but always the quality of the prose is exceptional. I hadn’t realised that he’d been knighted (presumably for services to literature – well deserved).

  5. “I’m inspired to start writing about a female pirate in the late 17th Century. I’ve never been on a sailing vessel, I’ve never been to the Caribbean and I’ve never engaged in piracy. “

    I’m pretty sure Stephen King has never hidden in a sewer devouring small children, either.

    But only ‘pretty sure’, not 100% convinced.

  6. I recall vaguely that there was a prominent 17th century Irish female pirate, based out of the West coast, perhaps. Queen Maeve?? There has to be a story here.

    Tony.

  7. Kazuo Ishiguro was on NHK TV yesterday plugging his latest book. The presenter was at pains to remind the audience that although he was British, he was born in Nagasaki and taken to the UK by his parents at the age of 5. He spoke in English too.

Comments are closed.