Dolly Alderton/Pandora Sykes

[Chandlerbing95]

you nailed it. I just finished Emma Gannon’s new novel because all the usual media types were raving about it. it was BAD. Like badly written teen fiction.

I find the same with her podcast it’s so overrated. Laura Jane Williams and Emma Jane Unsworth too I bought their books on their recommendation and it was like a teenager had written them. Tosh!

Emma Gannon is another one I don’t get. Her podcast is just quite dull? I don’t understand its popularity. I don’t mean to be bitchy, she seems nice and I like her fashion/sense of style.

I honestly think it was right place right time..who shouts the loudest is noticed type thing.

 

[slugella]

I find the same with her podcast it’s so overrated. Laura Jane Williams and Emma Jane Unsworth too I bought their books on their recommendation and it was like a teenager had written them. Tosh!


I honestly think it was right place right time..who shouts the loudest is noticed type thing.

Yeah I agree about the right place right time playing a huge part in it.

I have enjoyed a few of her podcast episodes but I think that's more down to me liking the person she interviewed.

 

[Lanavalentine]

Well you guys have inspired me to start buying Private Eye again!

Re: book recommendations, I find small Bookstagram accounts to be pretty decent at giving balanced reviews. Ones that don’t get a lot of free books, basically.

Sometimes when a book like Pandora’s is released and I’m sceptical of the reviews, I’ll look up the hashtag on Instagram. You can usually find some people being honest (along with the nutters who tag the author and just chat tit to get noticed!)

 

[Mbella]

Another good piece criticising Pandora's book (and others of her ilk)

How did rich millennials become the voice of generation rent? | Rachel Connolly

For landlords and those with family wealth, the elite is always somebody else, says writer Rachel Connolly

www.theguardian.com

 

[cholulamare]

Another good piece criticising Pandora's book (and others of her ilk)

How did rich millennials become the voice of generation rent? | Rachel Connolly

For landlords and those with family wealth, the elite is always somebody else, says writer Rachel Connolly

www.theguardian.com

That's a great piece, and the Amanda Hess tweet it links to hits the nail on the head.

 

[Old fart]

Another good piece criticising Pandora's book (and others of her ilk)

How did rich millennials become the voice of generation rent? | Rachel Connolly

For landlords and those with family wealth, the elite is always somebody else, says writer Rachel Connolly

www.theguardian.com

I was *just about* to post this excellent piece

Casual scroll through Twitter and there’s

 

[maketheswitch]

Wow that’s a great article!!!

I know a few of them, and I’m always suspicious of (i) posh boys with tattoos and (ii) posh boys who wear pinky signet rings but not wedding rings.

 

[queenamber]

Even her acknowledgement of the criticism comes across as snooty and privileged.

 

[AdoraDelano]

Even her acknowledgement of the criticism comes across as snooty and privileged.

I do think it's crappy to directly send someone something criticising them though.

 

[Love_hate_small_town]

I agree although I can see why someone might. I think most of the time it’s a crappy - let’s see how you react to this haha- but I also think that the privileged white author clique have such a Strong network of fellow authors/ multi hyphens and such a loyal following that they appear untouchable. No one dare criticise and if they do they are taken down for criticising another woman.

The acknowledgement of privilege is so tricky. I can see why they feel damned if they do, damned if they don’t but I love what the article says about the obligatory paragraph and how the inclusion of it lets people off the hook in terms of their role in keeping others down.

Let’s face it, if we lived in a meritocracy her book would not have been published. I’m also increasingly of the opinion that the more promo piled on a book, the more likely it is to be a cash in.

 

[AdoraDelano]

I don't know what's happened here but that's not my quote.

 

[Love_hate_small_town]

I don't know what's happened here but that's not my quote.

Not do I. I replied to your quote but somehow ended up quoting myself? Sorry

 

[AdoraDelano]

Not do I. I replied to your quote but somehow ended up quoting myself? Sorry

No worries - I was thinking "did I say that? Sounds too well thought out to be one of my posts!"

 

[maketheswitch]

I find the same with her podcast it’s so overrated. Laura Jane Williams and Emma Jane Unsworth too I bought their books on their recommendation and it was like a teenager had written them. Tosh!

Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth is SO BAD! So badly written.

 

[Whiskers]

One of Emma Jane Unsworth’s books is on the BBC Sounds app, I’m so glad I listened on there rather than buy it as it was pretty mediocre. The main character worked for a magazine I think. All these books seem to have characters that work in magazines/publishing/media. Even in Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams she worked for an online magazine or something. These writers can’t seem to write about a life other than the one they’ve lived. Caitlin Moran is the same. Music journalism barely exists anymore yet she is still writing about it. Where is the imagination? Sorry a bit of a rant there!

 

[Lanavalentine]

Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth is SO BAD! So badly written.

Another writer they recommend is Holly Bourne, and I find her overrated too. Such horrible, selfish, narcissistic characters. Pretending had an important topic at its core (rape trauma) but I just hated the plot so much.

It’s always women who work in media or startups, live with their rich best friend in an apartment they couldn’t afford without her, some kind of dating app involved, drama at someone’s wedding or hen party or work event, social media posts give something away in the plot, drinking too much as a sign of the protagonist’s issues, they have amazing animal-esque sex with a man whom you wouldn’t have expected to be good in bed, blah blah blah... it’s like a check list of modern female fiction.

 

[cedarpeach]

Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth is SO BAD! So badly written.

agreed! Dolly raves about Animals as one of her fave books and made out as though it was life altering. I downloaded the free sample from kindle and that was enough for me - completely bland and forgettable. I didn’t purchase it.

 

[blossombloss]

One of Emma Jane Unsworth’s books is on the BBC Sounds app, I’m so glad I listened on there rather than buy it as it was pretty mediocre. The main character worked for a magazine I think. All these books seem to have characters that work in magazines/publishing/media. Even in Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams she worked for an online magazine or something. These writers can’t seem to write about a life other than the one they’ve lived. Caitlin Moran is the same. Music journalism barely exists anymore yet she is still writing about it. Where is the imagination? Sorry a bit of a rant there!

I think that book is Adults by Emma? I recall the character "worked" (although barely) at some online mag. Another terrible book!

 

[maketheswitch]

agreed! Dolly raves about Animals as one of her fave books and made out as though it was life altering. I downloaded the free sample from kindle and that was enough for me - completely bland and forgettable. I didn’t purchase it.

thinking about it, is it a bit suspicious that Animals has a cancer dad in it, and Dolly's novel has a dementia dad in it?

 

[Doobots]

I hate the every protagonist is a writer thing. I've begun not to buy books where that's the case. It angers me more than I can enjoy the story. They also tend to be huge award winning writers who are now struggling a bit to live up to their own hype. As if that's the worst thing the author can imagine.