Hatrack River Forum: Poorly thought out plots

This is topic Poorly thought out plots in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

Sometimes I wonder why some books are written AND RELEASED, although the plot seems to be poorly thought out.

Example:
Do you know "The Water- Method Man" by John Irving? I really like the book, it's a lot of fun, but I find it really annoying that the main character's solution for one of his main problems is NOT logical at all! (Actually it's so annoying for me BECAUSE I like the book.)

This character, Fred 'Bogus' Trumper suffers from a too flexuous urethra which means bacterias and stuff that invade his penis (while having sex) can't be washed out properly, 'settle down' and thrive. So he has to deal with quite a lot of infections that cause him pain when he pees etc.
The doctor tells him that there are various solutions for his problem:
- an operation
- never have sex again, so there'll be no new infections
- live with it and take antibiotics
- the water-method, which means too drink so much water, that he MUST pee right after he had sex; by doing so, he can at least minimize the risk of a serious infection.

The doctor does NOT propose the use of prophylactics! And 'Bogus' does not think of it, either. WHY?! It's such an easy way to solve his problem! Only once, when he cheated his wife, he uses a prophylactic. As if there's a rule against using them when married or in a steady relationship. [Wall Bash]

I would like to ask John Irving about that, but I had to write a real letter to Random house, so I won't. [Smile]

(I edited the original post and title of the thread; "consistency" was obviously the wrong word choice regarding what I wanted to say. Thanks to KarlEd for the correction. [Big Grin]

)

[ March 22, 2006, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Pinky ]

Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :

I don't see why your example is a lack of consistency. To me a lack of consistency would be something like establishing a fact in one part of a story, but ignoring it or contradicting it in other parts of the story or in sequels. What you give as example above doesn't seem inconsistent. Perhaps incomplete or poorly thought out, but not inconsistent.

By the way, I really like John Irving. I think my favorite book of his is Son of the Circus.

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

Sorry, wrong word... [Blushing]

blame it on the Thesaurus. [Wink]

(Thank you for telling me! I'll change that.)

I like John Irving, too. I've read all of his novels at least three times, some of them even five or six times. "Son of the Circus" is great, but I think, "Owen Meany" is the one I like most. Hard to say. Right now, I read "The Cider House Rules" (I just bought an English copy in a second-hand bookstore.)
If I wouldn't like "The Water- Method Man" I wouldn't care whether the plot is poorly thought out.

[ March 22, 2006, 12:10 PM: Message edited by: Pinky ]

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

Do you think, it's okay now?

Posted by Sharpie (Member # 482) on :

I'm a big fan of Irving, too. Hard to pick between Owen Meany and Son of a Circus -- I liked them for fairly different reasons.

However, I hated what they did to Owen Meany on screen. Bah!

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

That was "Simon Birch", wasn't it. Irving hates it, too, so they weren't allowed to use the name "Owen Meany". [Big Grin]

Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :

You know, from the title, I thought this was going to be a discussion of Dan Brown books.

Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :

I heard Irving speak when I was in college. This was back in the early 80s, before Cider House Rules came out.

He told us that he writes his books starting with the end and then backtracking until he gets to a satisfactory beginning. I kid you not.

He used Cider House Rules as an example, because that's what he was working on at the time. I don't remember if what he told us matched the book as it was released (or the movie, rather, because I never read the book), but he gave us pretty detailed stuff, and described his thought processes as he backtracked.

I don't know if this would account for the inconsistencies you're talking about, but I thought I'd pass the info on.

Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :

I like his book The World According to Garp . I never finished it because the library basically told me to give it back or they'd hire an assassin.

I didn't start reading it till a few days before it was due and then I kept it late. Only a few days late. But they wanted it back because there was someone on the waiting list for it.

But I did like what of it I did read.

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Belle:
You know, from the title, I thought this was going to be a discussion of Dan Brown books.

Everything's possible!

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

"Garp" was my first Irving, too. Right now, I'm waiting for the Paperback version of "Until I found you". (They told me, I can buy it in May.)

Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :

quote:
Originally posted by SteveRogers:
I like his book The World According to Garp . I never finished it because the library basically told me to give it back or they'd hire an assassin.

I think I've read it about a dozen times. And it's been over a year and a half since I last read it, so I'll probably get to it again soon.

Way better than the movie, for those of you who've only seen the movie.

Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :

I feel that way about all of the Irving books made into movies. Simon Birch was at best a painfully abridged version of the basic plot of A Prayer for Owen Meany. I really disliked Cider House Rules the movie, but I loved the book. I thought Hotel New Hampshire was pretty much unwatchable, yet I enjoyed the book a lot.

That said, I did enjoy The World According to Garp the movie, but I've never read the book. Based on past experience I don't doubt I'd enjoy the book a lot more.

Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :

@StarLisa: Wow, that's strange. I think this MIGHT be the reason for the inconsistency in "The Water- Method Man". Who knows?

Uhm... actually this isn't supposed to be a thread about Irving. [Big Grin]

Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :

Does the book version of The World According to Garp end the same way as the movie? Because until the last scene I loved the movie.