Recently, I’ve been trying to make it a point of reading more books. Reading has always held such an important place in my life and in my heart. When I was younger, all I had to do to feel safe was pick up one of my favorite books and allow myself to be transported many worlds away. As I got older, I began to miss that feeling. In college, I feel like I became less and less important to myself in comparison to school, work and other people.
Over the summer, I realized that that had to change and so naturally, the first thing I reinstated as a priority in my life and free time was reading. In true Gen-Z fashion, a pretty decent portion of my reading selections this summer came from the infamous “BookTok”. I thought I knew about a lot of books, but the people who frequent BookTok have definitely got me beat.
An author that popped up quite frequently was a lady by the name of Colleen Hoover. She is a critically acclaimed author who has written many series, including the “Slammed” series and the “It Ends With Us” duology.
In August, Hoover’s novel “It Ends With Us” was adapted into a major motion picture, starring famous and highly decorated actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Lively is most known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in the hit series, “Gossip Girl”. Baldoni is known for his role as Rafael Solano in the hit American Telenovela “Jane The Virgin”, as well as his directing efforts in the films “Five Feet Apart” and “Clouds”.
I decided to try to read “It Ends With Us” first, especially since I knew there was a film coming out. I have a strict “no watching films first if there’s a book” policy. I was excited to get into the novel, considering there was a bunch of hype surrounding it. To make a long story short, I stopped reading the book halfway through. I just couldn’t get through it. The book made me cry and squirm at least 10 times within the first 50 or so pages.
Afterward, I researched Colleen Hoover and her purpose behind writing such a novel. Hoover wrote “It Ends With Us” to process her troubling upbringing that involved watching her parents engage in domestic and emotional abuse. As someone who writes a great deal about what they’ve experienced or been through, I understood her initial thought process. It was still incredibly jarring to see it written so plainly.
I laid that book to rest in my collection and decided to pick up one of her other novels, entitled “Verity”. I was hoping and praying that I wouldn’t be so startled by this one. Unfortunately, I was terribly wrong. The two main characters fell in love and bonded over the fact that they met after watching someone get run over by a taxi. Some would call my previous statement an “oversimplified” premise of the book but I think it’s just an accurately blunt one.
At this point, Hoover’s mental wellbeing was heavily in question for me. To make matters worse, during the “It Ends With Us” press tour, both she and Blake Lively seemed to gloss over the impact that domestic violence had in the film and also seemed to be glamorizing the subject, while Justin Baldoni spoke frequently about the topic and expressed much support for those affected by similar circumstances.
After that, I was disgusted by Hoover. Yet, I ended up deciding to read another one of her novels, “Slammed”. I actually enjoyed that book, despite its subtle implications of grooming, which still made me incredibly uncomfortable. She was definitely giving J.K. Rowling vibes at this point. It’s weird because their situations are sort of different. To me, Rowling is a transphobic and homophobic bigot who simultaneously made characters a part of communities she hates.
Hoover just seems to not understand the concept of oversharing and making her writing digestible, especially in a fictional setting. I personally feel like she might be better off writing nonfiction works so she can really release all that pent up trauma in a more transparent way.
In both situations, I enjoy the work that these women have produced. Does that mean that I agree with trans and homo-phobia, along with domestic violence? I don’t believe so.
At this point, I began to ponder the long debated concept of “separating the art from the artist” and whether or not it can be done. I definitely feel like I’ve done it in the past with musical artists such as Chris Brown and R. Kelly. Before you all immediately begin to hate my guts, let me explain. I, under no circumstances, condone either of these men’s actions.
In Chris Brown’s case, since his domestic violence situation with Rihanna, his musical success has continued to take hits. I will not neglect the fact that he has also had multiple other instances of domestic abuse be uncovered since then, but I think we have to remember that we are celebrating the music, not the man.
I feel like society always makes it seem like if you enjoy the work of screwed up people, especially if their screw ups were public and horrendous, it makes you somehow as bad as them. I believe that’s incredibly unfair. I also don’t think that it leaves room for these artists to have any sort of character development or growth in the public eye, if they desire to.
Cancel culture has ravaged our society so much to the point where if a notable individual makes one mistake, they’re immediately blacklisted, along with their work. Personally, I believe you can enjoy a body of work without celebrating the creator’s misdeeds.