Reading Ann Rice

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Continuing the discussion from Anne Rice, before and after:

I encountered Ann on a discussion forum at Amazon. It was accidental but there she was posting just like we do here. She is very well read in theology and spirituality. I wish she would happen in here just for fun.

Anyway, even though I dont read novels much I started to read hers and even the vampire stuff is really good. Not what I expected at all.

I started with “Angel Time”. Then “Memnoch the Devil” which sounds scary but Memnoch is actually a sympathetic character. That was a few years ago but I recently started the first two in the vampire series. I can see how people get so involved in good novels. Usually I only read nonfiction.
 
I also met Anne Rice on Amazon, who closed down their discussion boards a few weeks ago. Although you might not be able to tell by their titles, most of her books have a theological theme, some stronger than others. Religious thoughts and practices have big roles in her books, some bigger than others. One must be prepared for the challenge if one is to read her novels seriously. Or one can just enjoy the beautiful prose.
 
Anne Rice is a mixed bag, she reminds me of a first year medical student–she knows just enough to be dangerous.
I read the Mayfair Witches series. It was pretty good. She’s a decent wordsmith, and her tale is interesting. But she’s not as well versed in Catholicism as she should be–a poorly informed reader wouldn’t be able to descern where Church teaching and history end and her interpretation begins.
So, approach with caution.
 
How versed in Catholicism should she be to write fiction? Should she have a degree in Theology as well as Creative Writing? Can you be specific with your criticism?
 
For instance, in the Mayfair Witches trilogy, the spirit, Lasher, occasionally holds forth on this or that Catholic teaching, or tries to tie in Church history to his rants against God or the Church (bear with me I haven’t read the books in at least 15 years).
If you’re going to insult an organization in your writings, either the author should get the facts right, or at least demonstrate how the particular character got it wrong.
I think it’s even more of an obligation nowadays, when so many people’s education in history is so poor. There is an obligation, even for fiction writers, to not deliberately spread lies and misinformation…
 
And in Anne Rice’ defense, she seems like a very wounded soul. She lost a little daughter to cancer, she has heaps of pain and doubts and questions about God and the Church. She’s cycled in and out of being a believer several times. But it seems like her big stumbling block is she expects God to fulfill her wants and expectations, rather than learning about Who God is, or truth, and conforming herself to that.
To be fair, it’s something we all struggle with --I struggle to accept His will in my own life, and I’m not always gracious in conforming myself.
But I also don’t have access to thousands or millions of fans who take me seriously…
 
Never said she was orthodox. But she is well read, very informed and , of course, a creative thinker.
 
I read a couple of her vampire books back in the day when I occasionally still read fiction (I almost never do now). I’m not really into vampire stuff, but the books were well-written and mildly entertaining. I don’t look to any popular author to inform me about Catholicism.
 
her twitter posts are disturbing

she is an uber- left wackjob

didn’t know about her personal problems & losses; sorry for that

the vampire stuff she writes is crap & nonsense; but she’s made a fortune on it…
 
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She was raised Catholic, left the Catholic Church and then reverted somewhere around 10
years ago. Sadly, she left the Catholic Church a second time. Not sure what her religious or
spiritual life is now.
 
Shakuhachi said:
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Anyway, even though I dont read novels much I started to read hers and even the vampire stuff is really good. Not what I expected at all. …
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I advise against her erotica and S/M pornography under the pseudonyms A.N. Roquelaure and Anne Rampling.
 
Actually, Anne Rice was raised in the Catholic Church and knows the teachings better than most. She writes fiction. So her books are going to reflect that. She often writes from her characters viewpoints not her own.
 
Thank you for the pseudonyms. I didn’t know what they were. But then, I don’t read those types of books. Not my cup of tea.
 
lilypadrees said:
Thank you for the pseudonyms. I didn’t know what they were. But then, I don’t read those types of books. Not my cup of tea.
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You are welcome.
Thania St. John is writing the script for a TV Series based upon some of these erotica books. So it continues the anti-chastity trend in media.
 
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That’s too bad. She has produced such wholesome programming. Why venture into erotica? I’ll be sure not to watch when it airs. 😦
 
I agree with you, sort of.
If–what you mean by knowledge is knowing facts.
I mean, there are ideas, opinions, information–but sometimes a person knows a bit about a subject, but not enough to form an opinion.
It also depends on your sources.
You could read every anti-Catholic book ever written, and the fact would be, that you are a well-read individual, because you read many books.
But your opinion doesn’t mean much if you didn’t spend the same amount of time reading pro-Catholic books, because you only got one side of the story.
And, people do tend to read books that agree with their own point of view.
Not because they are bad or stupid, but because we like to be comfortable and don’t like to be challenged.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I read a couple of her vampire books back in the day when I occasionally still read fiction (I almost never do now). I’m not really into vampire stuff, but the books were well-written and mildly entertaining. I don’t look to any popular author to inform me about Catholicism.
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Never thought i would be reading vampire stuff especially since I also rarely read novels. I think the last was “Les Miserables”. It has to be something special to keep me interested so I have to give her credit for that. I guess also that I dont enjoy a novel as much unless i can discuss it with others reading it. Right now I am reading both ‘The Vampire Lestat’ and “Interview” . I probably ought to stick with one at a time but I cant decide which. Anyone here care to read and discuss (one of them)?
 
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lilypadrees said:
That’s too bad. She has produced such wholesome programming. Why venture into erotica? I’ll be sure not to watch when it airs. 😦
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Maybe due to her scripts for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Gingerbread), Roswell, Grimm, and currently for The Witcher (TV Series - 2018). These have preternatural elements.
 
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