Why is Literary Fiction so Unpopular?
Literary fiction? No sir…not for me. Why?
The sentences, the freaking sentences, on and on. “It lay there beckoning, taunting him with it’s many layers and the way they draped over each like lovers at an orgy.” It’s a freaking sandwich! That doesn’t even make sense. Or its the nine pages on the feelings of an ant. Why would I care what an ant feels? It’s like my mother in law learned to use a keyboard honest.
And why is it so damn sad? Always someone died, someones cheating on their spouse with their child in the middle of a hurricane. Or a marriage is crumbling slowly because the husband and wife snipe at each other and don’t do it. Get in bloody line! It’s not like I get any either.
The thinkers are the worst. Always wanting to explore truth in a dyslexic, time space continuum or what the meaning of meaning is? Who are these people, Bill Clinton? It’s not hard, just tell me what happened. See here let me show you. I opened this book, read a few pages, lost precious lunch time minutes I will never get back, threw it in the trash…see, easy.
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I get the feeling the above is what goes on in genre fiction reader’s minds when they consider literary fiction. These thoughts are the original reason literary fiction sells so poorly and is published in such small numbers.
They’re not so far off from the truth and it’s our (writers of literary fiction) fault.
We have lost our way. Somewhere between the postmodern brouhaha and now, we have forgotten to how to touch the common man. Until we learn that great stories are not always sad stories, that beautiful sentences and insights do not absolve us of “plotlessness” and until we learn to tap into collective emotions the way popular fiction does, we’re always going to be the brilliant, neglected children of the industry.
Writers have had a little help in sending literary fiction to the doghouse though.
There are the covers. I’m not sure exactly why literary novels have such terribly boring covers, but they do. Maybe book cover designers also get to put in their more artistic (vs reader enticing) work on literary novels. Maybe booksellers don’t care to influence cover designs for literary fiction (normally a bad thing). Whatever the reason, the covers of literary novels frequently fail to draw readers in.
Then there are the literary critics. No one cheered louder while literary novels gradually grew more complex and abandoned the clarity of plot for the brilliant and vague chaos of intellectual musings. Storied organizations like the New York Times, the New Yorkers, and the Paris Review celebrated the increased levels of artistry and without pointing out that literary fiction was growing out of touch with the populace. It is a terrible thing when the average reader dreads opening a classic like Ulysses outside a classroom.
Literary fiction’s poor sales numbers appears to have gelded many agents and publishers. Despite what the listings on QueryTracker, AgentQuery etc. say, most agents do not represent literary fiction (more to come about this). Publishers also put out very low amounts of literary fiction and market the works they do put out terribly. It is mostly up to small independent publishers to publish literary fiction but with their small marketing budgets, it’s frequently a suicide mission (There are a few exceptions like the Pulitzer winning novel Tinkers.)
Literary fiction still represents the very best that writing and storytelling can be and we need it touch the people’s hearts again.
Why do you think literary fiction is so unpopular?
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I have no idea, but I wish I did because I love it. I know that isn’t very useful in terms of contributing to the question, but it’s true. I just don’t get it? Literary fiction is challenging to read, it makes you think and it demonstrates true writing talent. Not that writing popular fiction doesn’t require talent, but it just isn’t in the same ball park as literary fiction. What bothers me is when people label you as a booksnob if you enjoy literary fiction. I wish more people challenged themselves with literary fiction
Great to meet you! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I look forward to reading more of your posts. I added you to my Google Reader.
Melissa
Your words really got me thinking: “Somewhere between the postmodern brouhaha and now, we have forgotten.” Starting to wonder about the word “forgotten” – what it truly means & all it holds. “Forgotten” grows endless… – Melissa .
Well, as a genre fiction reader, what literary fiction really lacks is story and characters. I find the characters too shallow, and I can’t emotionally relate to them. I can never ponder the morality of their actions. I’m not moved by the characters and I find them too one-sided. Literary fiction often attempts to use people for symbolization. Realistically, people are too complex to symbolize a certain emotion or aspect of society. When this is done, the character is made is static and boring. I’m hardly saying genre fiction contains complex characters and storyline, however. Most of it is shallow entertainment, with characters who are nothing more than evil for the sake evil, and good for the sake of good. They lack the themes literary fiction possesses. Yet they still manage to garner more fans, which is pretty simple to comprehend. They might fail to have anything that makes you think, but at least they have a story that wants you to keep reading on, even if the characters themselves are nothing more than mediocre rubbish. To write good literary fiction, you do not need to sacrifice a good story and characters. Ender’s Game is a book that makes many think, and has some deep themes within it. At the same time, it has appealed to the public at large. Why? It has a good storyline, the characters are superb, and the focus is around the plot, but the book’s characters still make you ponder the morality of their questionable actions. This book was written as genre fiction and by an author with a huge amount of disregard to literary fiction, yet it managed to be deep. Literary fiction authors would do well to follow in Charles Dickens footsteps. His books managed to grab the audience due to their compelling plot while focusing on controversial issues during that time period. I would also like to add that I believe symbolism and allegories are terrible tools used by writers unable to express what they really want to. They kill plots and characters, and simply encourage the assumptive behavior many literary fiction readers have. “Oh, see, what the author here is TRYING to say…” Furthermore, the claim that literary fiction is challenging and the masses cannot understand is exactly why people are labeled as booksnobs for enjoying literary fiction.
Amen and amen.
I agree with a lot of what you say. Literary fiction no longer touches people the way it has, can and should. The potential is there, the craft and skill are there, but we push readers away because we don’t entertain them like we should.
Thank you for your wonderful comment.
What a creature literary fiction is, that it may bewail itself ~*~*~
I think literary fiction is so “unpopular” because people allow themselves to be blinded by “ooh too many words” and “ooh not entertaining” and “ooh too vague smart blah blah” and “ooh too challengin.” It’s irritating.
@Internet Surfer, @Mayowa : I beg to differ. What I like most about literary fiction is its willingness to explore characters. To plumb the depths of humanity, so to speak. I read both literary fiction and genre fiction, and although I would still offer these terms can be abused as bookstore shelving categories, there are differences. So much genre fiction have willingly chosen to sacrifice character for cheap thrills. As have so much of literary fiction has opted to dwell and reflect and meditate for, hm, snooty satisfaction. But but but. Beyond the beauty pageant answer of “Both genres have their flaws,” I’m asserting that the literary fiction I’ve been exposed to — books that do not seek the title, but just comfortable “earn” it — are good. Damn good. It’s not sacrifice if you’re writing because you need to, if you’re writing because you’ve got a great grasp of the craft. It’s not sacrifice if you choose to be good. It’s not so much as taking the high road as it is, well, knowing what you like to capture about humanity, knowing the truest thing you can say, writing the truest thing you know, and putting that forward.
What literary fiction I’ve read — the characters take risks. They aspire to be more than symbols, because they’re real people. If they were cut out from stereotypes [because, to a degree, aren't we all?], it’s in the writer’s hands to divorce them from that. It’s not about themes, it’s not about allegories, it’s not about symbols. It’s about risk. It’s about truth.
“We have lost our way. Somewhere between the postmodern brouhaha and now, we have forgotten to how to touch the common man. Until we learn that great stories are not always sad stories, that beautiful sentences and insights do not absolve us of “plotlessness” and until we learn to tap into collective emotions the way popular fiction does, we’re always going to be the brilliant, neglected children of the industry.”
Oh, entertainment, what creature you are. “The common man”!
Bottom line, really: I don’t think it’s a showdown between literary and genre — it’s between what’s bad and good, in both labels. I’ve read erotica that “dared” to make their characters human. I’ve read literary fiction that meditated. I’ve come across language that encapsulates and estranges at the same time, and and and
I am fighting a losing battle, aren’t I?
Thank you for your wonderful comment Sasha.
I’m not sure we differ so much on this issue. I spent the last two years writing a work of literary fiction and I hope to be counted among the literary elite someday. I also read literary fiction almost exclusively these days and I have discovered many “Damn good” works. Looking outwards from inside literary culture though, I can’t help but think that we are missing something important. Despite the popularity of dross on tv and in books, I truly believe that the “common man” is no dumbass, and if the common man won’t pick up a literary novel to save his life, there is a problem with literary novels (or a perception of them). Apparently more people read literary fiction in the UK than in America. I don’t know why that is but I know that literary writers and the industry have to draw readers back because they won’t return on their own.
I think the beauty pageant answer is the right one and it only fails when we don’t examine it to adequate depths. I dream of a literary utopia where genre fiction contains as much character development as literary fiction and literary fiction as much plot as genre fiction. The two are not mutually exclusive and are in fact necessary for a great work of art. I’ve written posts that point out flaws in both genre and literary fiction because I feel they both contain elements of the perfect novel. The genre novels with fully developed characters and literary novels with great plots already exist in the utopia, the utopia of a “good” book.”
Thanks again for such a thought provoking comment. I’m off to read your blog now because I want to hear more of what you have to say.
I’m wincing as I reread my comment, haha. I’m sorry if I was so heated. I was punching the keys when I typed that in. Provoked, really. My major was Creative Writing, and I have to constantly defend that choice. Plus, that blind love for literature always seems to have me up in arms. So thank you for being so gracious. I was frothing at the mouth when I wrote the comment, oopsies.
So. I think it’s frustrating to all us lovers of literary fiction that it’s getting such a bad rep because we know how good it is. We know it can enchant, it can change lives. We know it’s an awesome way to spend an afternoon. On the other hand, it’s as easy to find flaws in genre lit. I mean, one reason why romance is such a lucrative niche is that it doesn’t alienate — and this “you’ve seen me before” can work both ways for the genre. It’s not afraid to be cheesy and draw you in. Sadly, so few romances take risks. I have read romances that can kick some literary fiction characters in the patooty, but most are happy being formulaic. Same with lit fic.
Is literary fiction self-aggrandizing? To a point, yes. There’s a snooty quality to it. But I earnestly believe that there are a lot of writers out there who don’t aim for the title. They’re just good novels. And I don’t even agree with the common notion that “good” means literary automatically, and vice versa.
There’s a problem all-around, with some of the writers, some of the publishers, some of the readers. I read Steve Hely’s How I Became A Famous Novelist, a satire about this literary fiction business. I didn’t enjoy the novel itself so much, haha, but he does raise some good points — it lacerates this whole “literary fiction ought to be sad and wordy and aimless” gimmick that seems to be a bad niche where too many trying-hard books fall in.
Random thought: I was wondering a couple of hours ago why actors get millions for making movies with a lot of glitter and explosions, when authors we love tend to have to make ends meet [or get another, more practical job, or my personal favorite, find a patron-cum-sugar daddy, haha]. [Granted, it's not a bolstering thought for anyone who wants to write.] It’s just sad reality. And a lot of us want this to change. But, well, who knows how? A lot would argue even that there’s no need to change.
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I flooded your comments again. :]
No problemo maam. I love heated comments (and posts, See a post titled I Hate Babies lol) and I’ve left many around the blogosphere. It’s raw, honest interaction that you can’t get anywhere else :) As far as defending your choice of books/major/etc. You tell anyone who questions it to bloody well piss off.
The frustration is definitely there. I get a little mad every time a cast member of the hills gets a book deal or I hear another another six figure advance for paranormal YA. There are so many deserving books out there but the industry chases these blockbusters every single time. Romance novels trouble me too, I’ve written several posts about how formulaic they can be. I definitely understand the need for escapism but it’s way overdone in romance (see the romance posts).
Despite all this, I am sort of understand genre fiction. I grew up reading only genre fiction and I’ve read more harlequins and Mills & Boon novels than any man, shoot anyone should admit. I am a staunch literary advocate now but I know deep down that literary fiction can learn something from genre fiction (that genre fiction can learn from literary fiction is a given). Imagine what it would be like if a great literary novel sold as many copies as Twilight, the benefits (improved reading culture, intelligent discourse, smarter kids in school etc.) would flow through readers into every other facet of life.
At the end of the day though, it’s up to us (the literary folks) to draw those readers in. The difficulty will be in balancing the creativity and craft of literary fiction but keeping things easy to understand and entertaining (without dumbing things down). If we get readers, the industry will follow.
It’s very interesting that you bring up movies and actors. I’ve been thinking that movies are one of the few places where you can occasionally find the right blend of commercialism and quality. The Dark Night was a huge blockbuster and yet had great character development. Inception (also by Christopher Nolan, he’s good) came out yesterday and the critics love it, but it’s a summer blockbuster. The closest example we have in the book world is Justin Cronin’s The Passage (although I haven’t seen a reader generated groundswell yet, just lots of establishment noise about how great it is).
“A lot would even argue that there’s no need to change.” Nothing gets under my craw more than this does. The status quo is definitely not okay. The folks who say it is benefit from it and thus can’t be trusted. Publishers and agents are nice people but this is how they make their living. They’re not going to lead the revolution.
Now have you considered the possibility that we’re twins separated at birth? lol
Regarding The Passage: I haven’t read it but I bought a copy for my husband. For 5 days that book was an extension of his hand – in the morning, leaving for work, before bed. If I saw him, I saw it. But afterwords when I asked him about it he told me it was OK, that it borrowed a lot from other sources and that they were setting it up for a sequel. He also said it followed a common sci-fi/fantasy formula and named a lot of other books that it reminded him of. He wouldn’t call it a Summer blockbuster and when I tried to pin it down he said it was something to read while he waited for an author he liked to come out with a new novel. Then he realized I was planning to quote him and refused to continue. :)
I seen all the buzz and I attribute it more to The Passage being a novel the industry can control from the start, rather than grabbing the tiger by the tail after it’s left the cage so to speak. But, then, I haven’t read it either.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ve been wondering about that for a while now. It does feels like the industry is really behind this book but readers appear to feel like your husband does about it. “Eh.” Kinda makes you wonder if the industry has lost it’s ability to actively push readers towards a book. A thousand reviews are written, it’s mentioned on PBS, the NY times predicts sales in the stratosphere; readers simply read what friends/family/blogs recommend.
Very interesting!
Thanks for stopping by.
Haha, I have to disagree on one thing. Common man is most certainly a dumb ass, if popular tastes in music and the such are reflections of the common man. Do not fall for the appeal to popularity fallacy. The majority is hardly right, and in the end, it is you as an individual who decides what’s good and what isn’t. After all, it’s your world, from your perspective.
However, that does not mean popular things are necessarily bad either.
Anyhow, what I’m really saying is, literary fiction doesn’t necessarily need more readers. It should stick true to what it does. However, literary fiction authors would do well to learn how to write a good story. Maybe Christopher Nolan should help them out with that, because Inception was brilliant.
I read the first part of your post and found myself thinking – Hell yeah! Because I think the points you make (though intended as a joke) hold true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the middle of a novel and thought to myself: for the love of god crack a joke already! (No one, in my opinion, can be miserable all the time. Even in tragedy. If it lasts for more than 24 hours someone is going to want to relieve the pressure – it’s just human nature). Or, can we get a change of scenery here – is it me or could this whole book have taken place in one room? Unfortunately, some authors do not seem to agree – and I think that’s part of the problem with “literary fiction”. Its authors have a habit of trying too hard and taking themselves too seriously. Which is why Michael Chabon, Kazuo Ishiguro, Margaret Atwood and their ilk have been able to successfully reach out to the common man – they take their writing craft very seriously, but do not limit themselves to write only about serious and intellectually stimulating subjects. And they have my undying love and gratitude because of it. There may be a message in their novels, but their novels are not a slave to that message.
“Apparently more people read literary fiction in the UK than in America” is a bit of a misnomer. I listen to a lot of BBC Radio shows on books, and one thing I’ve noticed is that the UK doesn’t seem to be as strung out over categories over there as we are. It’s why translations don’t sell (or at least we are told don’t sell) in the U.S. market. Because translations are so often marketed as translations first, and the story/content second. Or there’s the case of a novel like Wolf Hall, which I actually bought when it was first released in the UK because I kept hearing about the amazing writing it contained. In the U.S. I’ve mainly heard it described as historical fiction (which is true, but no one seems to want to talk about the writing or the author). I’m sure we can all list a ton of other examples. The Brits just seem to read more books than we do, to take literature more seriously. They actually seem to care more about the content than the packaging. Or am I being too much of an anglophile?
More and more I think we are having the wrong conversations about books. We’re trying to make them into television shows – easily categorized by network and timeslot. And that’s not what they are. Find a good story and write it well. If you have a message or a perspective you’re trying to convey – well that’s fine too. But if you don’t get the first two right, no one will care about the third. And why should they?
What a wonderful comment!
I react that way to so many literary novels, sometimes from my own writing. I am going to make a confession here. I haven’t managed to get to any of those authors and I may be the only literary novelist in the world who hasn’t (see I’m good at hyperbole lol). I am definitely adding them to the list now. I’ll make a suggestion of my own as far as non depressing literary ficition goes. I love, love Gary Shteyngart because he makes literary fiction funny again.
We need more folks like these, to touch the common and make literary fiction sexy again.
Thank you for your great insight on the uk vs. us literary culture. It’s a lot more scary to think that in general uk culture is so much more mature? I listened to an interview with John Irving (Pens On Fire podcast) the other day and he was saying that he gets treated better and shown more respect in Netherlands than in the states.
You’re perfectly right about the direction we’re headed, we’re turning books into commodities. Instead of seeking out fresh voices, we take the current hot thing and clone it to death until it’s no longer hot.
Thank you so much for stopping by and adding to the conversation.
What a thought provoking post! I don’t know why it is so unpopular. I like variety. Sometimes I just want to be entertained but other times I want to read something meaningful and more of the “literary fiction” genre.
I feel like alot if it is our “fast” culture. We want to be able to fly through books and be on to the next one and literary fiction isn’t that type of read. People don’t want to take the time to think it through. They just want that instant gratification by means of an entertaining ride. I don’t think it is a horrible thing as I do enjoy being entertained and reading something more challenging. That’s just my opinion but it’s a really great question!
Nice post… but please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do something about the horrible, eye-killing color-scheme of your website! Much like in writing, simple is better. BLACK PRINT, WHITE PAGE!
John,
I just wanted to say thank you for the heads up. I updated one of my plugins recently and it must have broken my theme completely (foolish me didnt check the site after the update). I appreciate you mentioning it and i hope the site is better to your liking now.
Because it has become pretentious and values technique over substance. It’s writing for writers, not for readers, and unfortunately for “literary fictionists,” that dooms their work to gather dust on some small publisher’s shelf.