Preconception
I was lounging reading a book, with Planet Rock radio on in the background. The voice singing sounded vaguely familiar, so I focussed in and recognised Rory Gallagher, singing Shadow Play. I think Rory Gallagher was a brilliant guitarist, although not such a good vocalist, so I started listening properly and really enjoyed the rest of the track. But I did find myself wondering, if it had been Fred Bloggs performing, would I have appreciated the guitar playing so much? Or did my expectations colour my enjoyment?
As it happens, I was reading The White Cottage Mystery, by Margery Allingham. This was her first published book, back in 1928, but it had orginally been written as a serial for the Daily Express. Because it had been written to be published in parts, each part found some way of reiterating the main plot points to date. Once she became famous for her Campion novels, Allingham refused to let this book be republished without editing to fix this, which she never had time to do. After she died, her publishers got her sister Joyce involved to eliminate the unnecessary text, and republished the story as a slim volume.
My preconceptions on this go both ways: one the one hand I wouldn't have got the book if I weren't a fan of Margery Allingham; on the other, after Dick Francis and Desmond Bagley, I'm not at all keen on relatives 'finishing' authors' books.
Another author I'm a big fan of is Ellis Peters. These days she is best known for her Brother Cadfael books, but when I started to read her many of her books were about George Felse (Sergeant Felse in the first book, progressing slowly up the ranks of the local police as the series continued) and/or his family. For many years I thought her first book was one called Holiday With Violence - partly because it was written earlier than any of her books that I was then familiar with, partly because I found it rather amateurish and simplistic, with poorly developed characters. I now know that actually she wrote her first George Felse book a year earlier, a fascinating story about post-war England called Fallen Into The Pit. Not only that, but she had also previously written books under her real name, Edith Pargeter. It seems that Holiday With Violence is just Ellis Peters' one duff book (IMO, of course) - not because it was her first, but simply because it didn't quite work.
Ellis Peters/Edith Pargeter is interesting from the point of view of preconceptions. A couple of times I have tried to read some of her Pargeter books, and found them unreadable. Same author, similar historical setting to Brother Cadfael, yet, for me, far too laborious to read. I think part of this is the strength of the 'voice' she uses when writing. The Felse novels all have a very distinctive voice to them, which I always associate with Bunty Felse (even when she's not explicitly in the story). The Cadfael novels have a different distinctive voice, to me Brother Cadfael himself - one reason why I had difficulty relating to the TV series. The novels she wrote as Pargeter have their own equally distinctive voices, which I just don't get on with.
If I just read The White Cottage Mystery on its own, I wouldn't necessarily guess it was by Margery Allingham - the plot and characterisation are both much simpler - but it is an enjoyable read, especially when half-listening to Planet Rock. If I hadn't recognised Rory Gallgher's voice on the radio, I probably wouldn't have bothered to properly listen to the rest of the track. Once I did start listening, though, it's the quality of the guitar playing that makes it worth continuing.
When a friend has a problem with someone else, my instinct is to side with them, to take their part. Sometimes, when I listen carefully, it's a problem of their own making. I'm still on their side, but that's no reason to pretend something that's not true. In the long run, I don't think it benefits anyone to believe in a false picture of a situation. A preconception or a prejudice can give a starting point, but then you have to open your eyes and your ears and your heart, and decide for yourself what is good and right and true. Books, music, politics, religion, relationships ... if you don't engage with what is real, then you are justing wasting your time, and your life.