Simon Says: communiqué 032/June 2019

Hello everyone

In the northern hemisphere we’re moving into summer and with summer comes summer holidays. Holidays, of course, require a pile of books… I’ll let you complete that sentence for yourself as I move on.

Crime as a Lens

Last month, I talked about moving the lens through which a scene is viewed to show different aspects.

Beyond how a scene is told, fiction can be used as a lens to examine social issues. One of the most effective genres for this kind of analysis is the crime genre. If you want a simple example of this, think of Charles Dickens, a man whose name is synonymous with abject poverty and repulsive characters.

Here are a few more thoughts about how crime fiction can be a lens through which to view society and to consider wider social issues.

If you didn’t read what I wrote last month, you can follow this link and read it here.

Advice

I was recently accused of giving advice. This may seem like a strange thing to bridle against, but there are important issues here—both for the people giving advice and for anyone seeking advice.

Let me explain why I’m equally concerned about people who think they can give advice and about people who listen to these deluded pronouncements.

Heading Back to Watch TV

That’s it for this month. I’m off to watch TV: the second series of Killing Eve has just started in the UK. I really enjoyed the first series (apart from the final episode). Here’s what I thought about that series.

Until July.

All the best

Simon