As awful as crime can be, it's what happens afterward - the struggling to get out of bed, to put one foot in front of the other - that alters people.
Karin SlaughterRead
Good crime writing holds up a mirror to the readers and reflects in a darker light the world in which they live.
Interpretation
Crime writing reveals uncomfortable truths about society.
Karin Slaughter's quote suggests that effective crime writing serves as a reflection of reality, illuminating the darker aspects of the human experience and society. By engaging with these stories, readers confront unsettling truths about their own world, allowing for deeper reflection and understanding of the complexities of life.
In practice
This quote can be used in a literary discussion about the role of crime fiction in understanding societal issues.
As awful as crime can be, it's what happens afterward - the struggling to get out of bed, to put one foot in front of the other - that alters people.
Reading is exercise for our brains in the guise of pleasure. Books give us insight into other people, other cultures. They make us laugh. They make us think. If they are really good, they make us believe that we are better for having read them.
It's extraordinary how many people read a book that's new and weird and befriend it.
When I wrote 'Lord of the Flies' - I had no idea it would even get published.
Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.
We did meet forty years ago. At that time we were both influenced by Whitman and I said, jokingly in part, 'I don't think anything can be done in Spanish, do you?' Neruda agreed, but we decided it was too late for us to write our verse in English. We'd have to make the best of a second-rate literature.
To encounter 'Beowulf' is like taking a sledgehammer to a quarry face. You must bang in there.
I have good reason to be content, for thank God I can read and perhaps understand Shakespeare to his depths.
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