This is a major issue for me as a non-native English speaker (it even happens in my own language, but the effect is not as bad). Why do some authors go out of their way to make their books very convoluted? Like they make it so hard for you to connect the dots from different chapters or even the same chapter. What’s the point? Do some readers actually enjoy this? Or is it the author trying to show off/feel superior? (This is not meant as an insult, just an assumption/opinion?). I’ve read several Stephen King books and they’re mostly easy to understand, but sometimes he’d go on tangents where shit doesn’t make any sense. I just skip all that “filling”, as a I call it. Like who’s whom, and what’s just happened? Where did this come from? And so on. Tried with the Malazan book of the fallen, and holy shit. The beginning of the first book was a major pain to understand, so I stopped and I’ve been reading more English books so I can get better then go back to it. On the other hand, my wife has introduced me to this writer, Freida McFadden. The lady has the most straight forward books I’ve ever read. You read and you understand everything from start to end. I don’t even find myself getting distracted like I do with the books that I have a hard time understanding. Her books are very clear and the English she uses is very simple in terms of vocabulary. Vocabulary… That’s another can of worms that I don’t want to open.
Thanks for reading my rant.
The majority of writers in English write books with the expectation that a majority of their readers will be native English speakers. And for the most part, this is true.
The vocabulary of native English bibliophiles is, on average, much wider than the vocabulary of someone who learns it as a second language. This is nothing inherent to speakers of English; almost everyone speaks their own native language better than a foreign language.
Complex plot lines are not unique to English either, but it is more noticeable when you consider the added mental strain of reading in a non-native language. Regardless, there are plenty of authors, as you have found, who will write simpler prose with more linear storytelling. Each writer has their own style. What might be meaningless filler to you could be considered flavourful world building or character building by someone else.
Literature is like food: people tend to prefer food from their culture over foreign foods, and if you don’t like certain cooking styles or certain flavours, you can certainly find food that better matches your preferences. And it’s also similar to how some people think rice is flavourless and boring while for others, it’s an integral part of the meal and it would not feel complete without it.
I love this take. I agree 100%. To diverge a little, though, I’d wager that an author would reach more people if they didn’t target only native English speakers, especially in this day and age. This is the age of the internet where different backgrounds are interacting more than ever before. I agree with the rest of your take completely. And as a personal anecdote, I was reading an Arabic book called “Utopia” by an Arabic Author (my native language). I dropped that book the second I hit chapter 2. It was just not making sense. I wasn’t able to follow the story. I don’t know what the Author was doing, but it was very bad even though it’s my own language.
Also, sometimes Stephen King was off his mind on cocaine