Of these books, the only one I have read in its entirety is Melissa Foster’s Come Back to Me(the subject of my blog tomorrow). But I have sampled most of the others and know they represent fine writing on various themes. I also read Christina Carson’s fine book Dying to Know, which was a semifinalist in this category.
But, I have to say that the category “literary fiction” puzzles me. I have asked countless authors what the term means and received different answers from each of them. The closest I can get to a definition is that “literary fiction ” is fiction which doesn’t fall easily into genre fiction.
Again, this definition is just a starting point that raises all sorts of questions.
To begin with, do readers view “literary fiction” as one genre among others? If so, what does a reader hope to find when she searches for literary fiction?
If a book doesn’t fit within another genre, does it by default find itself classified as “literary fiction?”
The repository of all knowledge, Wikipedia, in its article on the topic says:
Despite the fact that all genres have works that are well written, those works are generally not considered literary fiction. To be considered literary, a work usually must be “critically acclaimed” and “serious”. In practice, works of literary fiction often are “complex, literate, multilayered novels that wrestle with universal dilemmas”.
The same article goes on to discuss John Updike’s take on literary fiction.
Let me pause here to say that I have read several of John Updike’s novels and believe he was perhaps the greatest wordsmith of the second half of the twentieth century. When I read one of his books, I kept a dictionary within reach and often referred to it. Anyway, here’s what the Wikipedia article reports about his opinion on literary fiction:
In an interview by Lev Grossman for Time magazine, John Updike lamented that “the category of ‘literary fiction’ has sprung up recently to torment people like me who just set out to write books, and if anybody wanted to read them, terrific, the more the merrier. But now, no, I’m a genre writer of a sort. I write literary fiction, which is like spy fiction or chick lit”.Likewise, on The Charlie Rose Show, he shared that he felt this term, when applied to his work, greatly limited him and his expectations of what might come of his writing, and so does not really like it. He said that all his works are literary simply because “they are written in words”.
So, in that article we hear the king of literary fiction lamenting the fact that he is considered a literary fiction writer.
It’s a strange phenomenon to be sure.
Oh, and I know a lot of people say that literary fiction is about characters whereas genre fiction is about plot. That’s sort of a chicken and the egg deal for me because in order to be good a book must tell a strong story using powerful characters.
The further I go in this blog, the more confused I am becoming.
Can you help me out here?
What the heck is literary fiction? Is it just something you know when you see it? Is it what you look for when you go book shopping?
I think it is all pretty subjective anyway Stephen. I think there may be some authors who would like to have their books branded as ‘literary’ because they feel it is a cut above the norm. I don’t see how you can write an example of literary fiction without it having a plot and as such would fit into some pre-existing defined genre. As I see it ‘literary fiction’ is a subjective label tagged on to the ability of the author to write good English – like what I do!!!!!
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Well said, David. Especially the last observation (lol). I remember having this conversation with an aunthor a year or so ago. He was just starting to do social networking and was wondering whether he should join some literary fiction groups. At the end of discussion I think we decided that it couldn’t hurt because neither of us had a clue what literary fiction was. Now that I have had another year to think about it, I still don’t know.
Karen Hoffman
I’ve been scratching my head over this one for a long time. The best I’ve been able to figure is that literary fiction does not fit the other genres, such as crime or romance, but it can be about crime or romance. What I mean by that is that it doesn’t follow the conventions and formulas of genre. It may be experimental or deal with larger themes. Consider “The English Patient” by Michael Ondaatje. It is, without doubt, a love story, but it also deals with notions of ownership and uses exquisite language.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Karen, I agree. But it still leaves a lot of subjectivity to the category. For instance, Updike is one of those writers whose language was exquisite, to use your word. But there is an exquisiteness to bare prose as well. I am thinking here of Kent Haruf who has told such beautiful stories of the American West. Also, James Lee Burke is a poet trapped in a detective story writer’s body. There are passages of his that rival any of the best poetry. But no one refers to Burke’s writing as literary fiction. The same sort of thing holds true for Elmore Leonard. And so on. Thanks for the comment. Let’s keep trying to figure it out.
http://twitter.com/CalebPirtle Caleb Pirtle
Literary fiction is what the high-brow, elitist writers think they write. It is beneath their dignity to write genre, even when they write genre, which they think they take to a whole never level of intellectual authorship.
http://twitter.com/jackdrsm Jack Durish
I guess that I’m more confused that you. I always thought that “literary fiction” was fiction written by authors who were now dead (or ought to be dead) but some published kept the presses rolling. I guess now that it’s one of those things for the “experts” to decide (“x” – unknown and “spurt” – a drip under pressure)
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
For the time being, I am working under the assumption that literary fiction is that fiction written by someone other than me.
http://twitter.com/jvonbargen Jo VonBargen
I think literary fiction has something to say. It attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions. There are larger themes, profound ones, underlying the basics of the story. Still, it probably ultimately comes down to style – the way the author conveys his/her creative and critical thought. If the author’s words resonate with the reader and evoke personal feelings, as perhaps provoking thought, wrenching the heart, etc., and the five elements of fiction are well-crafted, then it might fall under the category of literary fiction. This is a very subjective thing, however, and I agree with Caleb. The halls of academe have tried to corner the market with the catchphrase, thinking they elevate themselves to a higher status than we sloggers out here. I think we can all define what we read for ourselves. If a work impacts you, taking you deeper into the labyrinth of human condition than you ever knew existed, then what you have is a work of lasting literary merit, labels be damned.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Jo, you have covered a lot of ground with your comment. I think about the book, The Writer’s Journey. It is a classic work about the key elements of any good story. At the heart of it is that good stories must participate in universal truths. Because that is the benchmark for all meaningful writing, I think it follows that regardless of genre considerations all writing must address these abiding themes that drive people. A thriller must do it, a romance, a young adult book, a fantasy. The problem becomes more complicated when we realize that books are sold by genres. In other words, retailers use genres to decide which shelf, real or virtual, on which to shelve a book. Is it vegetable or mineral? The really confusing part of the discussion is that a fantasy or thriller or whatever may be “literary.”
http://twitter.com/jvonbargen Jo VonBargen
“The really confusing part of the discussion is that a fantasy or thriller or whatever may be “literary”. Of course! Look at H G Wells, Jules Verne. Every author carries his or own perspective and philosophical bent into whatever genre is being written. Add to that his/her creativity in presenting the story. This is one of those subjective arguments to which there will never be one answer. Personally, I don’t care. They can put me on the “kitchen gadgets” shelf if that will make it sell better. I’m currently changing categories back and forth on Amazon to evaluate what gets seen more than the ones I started with, trying to go with the ones with smaller numbers of books per category. Better chance to move up in the rankings. Jeesh!! I hate this crap with a passion. But, so be it. Gotta have a dog that will hunt.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
You bet. We are all searching for a good hunting dog.
http://twitter.com/Writania Writania
Interesting article. Having worked in a bookstore and recalling how we shelved books…Mainstream Fiction is fiction that doesn’t fall neatly into any other genre. Literary fiction is fiction that is more character driven than plot driven…however, some literary fiction also has a plot.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Writania, a guy sent me a tweet earlier today that said: “Literary fiction is a story in which not much happens but everyone feels deeply about it.” That may be as good a definition as anyone can fashion. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. SW
http://twitter.com/CarsonCanada Christina Carson
I have played with this same question for some time and the best I can do is steal that quote that said something to the effect that I don’t know what it is but I know it when I see it. Myself, not writing genre, I often end up in Literary Fiction because no one seems to offer Mainstream Fiction as a choice anymore. It’s truly all a pain in the butt. I write fiction; let that be sufficient.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Yes, it looks like it has become the default genre for a lot of writing. That’s okay, I guess if there are a lot of readers who search that genre for something good to read.
http://twitter.com/ByRozMorris Roz Morris fiction
I was asking this question on my blog last week and I think we still haven’t got to the bottom of it, though we all had a darn good comment about it (http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/literary-versus-genre-fiction-whats-the-difference/) . All sorts of theories came up – from ‘any book that makes me think is literary’ to ‘aren’t literary novels the stodgy things that Booker judges read?’ I found myself waving cudgels about that.
The word ‘pretentious’ was mentioned, as was the possibility that you can’t set out to write a literary novel, that label must be bestowed on you by readers who have been sufficiently stirred.
No one mentioned ‘paraliterary’, though! I’ve never heard of that.
One argument i like is that literary is a quality that might be present to a greater or lesser extent in any novel. For instance, spy stories might be anything from a straightforward thriller to the undeniably more penetrating works of John le Carre. And also that literary works are more than just a story, they are an illuminating, persisting experience.
http://www.venturegalleries.com Stephen Woodfin
Roz, it is a hard subject to sort out. All the things you mention certainly come into play. I agree that a work is probably best judged “literary” as an after thought. If the writing is poetic in feel is one thing, but I also think the story has to participate in universal themes to an extent beyond what we often see in other genre fiction. Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment. Don’t be a stranger. Regards, SW
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