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<blockquote data-quote="Ashtal" data-source="post: 222583" data-attributes="member: 3"><p>There really isn't any divide between what is 'literary' and what is 'genre' fiction; literary is itself a genre, no better or worse than any other but having one advantage - a typical stranglehold on academia.</p><p></p><p>You're going to find pearls of characterization, depth and intelligence in any genre, just as you are going to find shoddy, poor writing in any genre. And while I agree with another poster that there is a lot of shoddy writing that seems acceptable to readers who prefer 'genre' works, there are just as many obscure, navel-gazing works of incredible boredom among the literary stacks that shouldn't be there, either. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Part of it is not wanting to share, I think. Part of it is also a dedicated effort starting in the early teens of squashing interest in the fantastic - but I think the popularity of thrillers (especially on the Best Seller List) is a reaction to that. </p><p></p><p>A few examples: A Separate Peace - literary, in my opinion, as it deals with the 'ordinary' as it affects the development of the main character. Facinating book. The Watch That Ends The Night - a tooth-pulling exercise of immense boredom that has the sole distinction of being the only book I have ever been assigned to read, but didn't, and not for lack of trying. Part of this may have been mismatching the audience. We were high school students, and I could more easily identify with a teenager puzzling out the intricacies of life moreso than I could with a depressed middle-aged man having trouble dealing with his family relationships. </p><p></p><p>But what about these best sellers? I would consider Lord of the Flies to have more in common with social sci-fi than I would the 'literary', and I would classify Memoirs of a Geisha as historical, but it was heavily carried mainstream. I find the separation of these things very artificial and backwards, leaving thought-provoking science fiction in the closets while 'literary' works are held high regardless of merit. And the institutions that continually reinforce these whacky preconceptions are doing themselves and writing in general a disservice, IMO. Good writing is good writing, regardless of genre. Encouraging one at the expense of all others is like focusing solely on chemistry and disregarding astronomy, physics and mathematics as 'lesser' sciences.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ashtal, post: 222583, member: 3"] There really isn't any divide between what is 'literary' and what is 'genre' fiction; literary is itself a genre, no better or worse than any other but having one advantage - a typical stranglehold on academia. You're going to find pearls of characterization, depth and intelligence in any genre, just as you are going to find shoddy, poor writing in any genre. And while I agree with another poster that there is a lot of shoddy writing that seems acceptable to readers who prefer 'genre' works, there are just as many obscure, navel-gazing works of incredible boredom among the literary stacks that shouldn't be there, either. :) Part of it is not wanting to share, I think. Part of it is also a dedicated effort starting in the early teens of squashing interest in the fantastic - but I think the popularity of thrillers (especially on the Best Seller List) is a reaction to that. A few examples: A Separate Peace - literary, in my opinion, as it deals with the 'ordinary' as it affects the development of the main character. Facinating book. The Watch That Ends The Night - a tooth-pulling exercise of immense boredom that has the sole distinction of being the only book I have ever been assigned to read, but didn't, and not for lack of trying. Part of this may have been mismatching the audience. We were high school students, and I could more easily identify with a teenager puzzling out the intricacies of life moreso than I could with a depressed middle-aged man having trouble dealing with his family relationships. But what about these best sellers? I would consider Lord of the Flies to have more in common with social sci-fi than I would the 'literary', and I would classify Memoirs of a Geisha as historical, but it was heavily carried mainstream. I find the separation of these things very artificial and backwards, leaving thought-provoking science fiction in the closets while 'literary' works are held high regardless of merit. And the institutions that continually reinforce these whacky preconceptions are doing themselves and writing in general a disservice, IMO. Good writing is good writing, regardless of genre. Encouraging one at the expense of all others is like focusing solely on chemistry and disregarding astronomy, physics and mathematics as 'lesser' sciences. [/QUOTE]
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