Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I'm curious what your thoughts are on the delineation between literary fiction and other genres that include literary qualities. I personally see "literary" as a fuzzy term, but perhaps that's just because I'm very eclectic about genre.

I'm a speculative fiction and horror author among other things, but stylistically, I consider my work literary. For example, I'm very conscious about tone, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, etc. and write social and political undertones in all of my genres.

My question to you: Do you feel that sci-fi and horror can qualify as literary? Why or why not?

Sure they can, Leigh. How about I. Robot, The Collector and Wurthering Heights? In my opinion, if a box speaks seriously to the human condition it is literary fiction. It may or may not also be genre literature.

All genres can be considered literary as a descriptive term generally referring to prose style, but the stories specifically called "literary fiction" are primarily character driven as opposed to plot driven. Of course, all genres have both types of driving forces - character and plot. I think it's simply a matter of preponderance. Also, the term "genre" seems to imply "commercial" fiction.

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your thoughts on this.

I write historical fiction - a genre of its own. I write about WWII in the Pacific. It's an era of which few people know. I've written:
A Healing Place: American Depression and WWII
Blessed Are the Merciful: WWII in Philippines
Joyce Shaughnessy

www.blessedarethemerciful.net

Suki wrote: "All genres can be considered literary as a descriptive term generally referring to prose style, but the stories specifically called "literary fiction" are primarily character driven as opposed to p..."

Suki, that is exactly what a literary agent told me! I was at a conference and many authors had questions about what makes a book a literary piece. He laid it out the same way.

I agree, but would add that genres (including “literary”) also tend to be publisher/bookseller categories that help market books to specific groups of readers. Good writing is good writing, regardless of which section of the bookstore it's in.

I would argue that literary fiction is fiction that is not just about plot rather than it is character driven. Literary fiction may tell a story (almost always does) but goes beyond to say something memorable.

As a reader, I find honest genre descriptions (not all are) useful in finding the kind of books I want to read among the tens of thousands new books published every year.

Agreed, but I tend to be cautious slapping genre/literary labels on books. I know science fiction fans who refuse to crack the cover of Left Hand of Darkness because they’ve heard it’s “literary.” A friend won’t read Frankenstein, saying, “Oh, I don’t read horror.” Drawing that hard line between ‘genre’ and ‘literary’ can result in good books not being read

Tim and Jaq,

I agree about not making genre lines too hard as a reader, but, given the thousands of offerings, one has to rely on authors to promote their books as cross-genre. However, I know as a writer that this is difficult. With my thrillers, which are frankly offered as entertainments, I have no difficulty. With respect to my efforts in literary fiction, which have some elements of romance but are not typical of the genre, I struggle about whether to also tag the book as Romance or mention it to GR groups dedicated to that genre. I believe it is very important that authors describe their books accurately in their promotional blurbs, and I try to do just that. At the same time, while I tag my attempts at literary fiction as such, I don't use the term in my descriptions for fear it will be considered presumptuous.

Hi all,

Had some experience of this recently. My first novel, The Long Dry, won a society of authors award - i.e. was seen as strongly 'literary'. The subject matter was unusual, it was a short novel, and was a risk.

My second novel,Everything I Found on the Beach, has a much stronger narrative line, and a more 'filmic' plot. The same writing style applies, the scant, stark tone. But because of the subject matter, I could approach it to a degree as a 'thriller.' This enabled me to use a few cliches and mores to build the book, under the safety of a genre label.

The publishers pitched it as a 'taught, literary thriller.' Critics have favourably agreed. However, for readers who are used to reading 'writing by numbers' books, it could disappoint.

In essence, a strong book will make its own decisions as to what it is.

I think genres are a lot more fluid than they used to be, no matter how much publishers would like to pigeonhole books for the sake of efficient marketing.

Some people call YA a genre, but that has never made sense to me as a writer because YA novels fall into many genre categories (mystery, historical, etc.), not to mention they can be literary or "not."

To me, a literary book is one in which the language is precise and memorable, it has one or more serious themes underlying the story, it raises more questions than it answers, and it isn't beholden to any particular plot constraints. When I read a mystery, I want it solved at the end! That's why a mystery novel can be "literary" in the quality of its prose, but still genre fiction if its plot conforms to all the expectations of the mystery genre.

There are always going to be genre writers that bring out the absolute shining best of the genre's possibilities, i.e. Henning Mankell with his Swedish crime series or Ursula LeGuin with science fiction.

Often the terms get tagged with writers, as well. Michael Chabon has a reputation that everything he does will be considered 'literary' even if it's a Sherlock Holmes novel (The Final Solution). Conversely, Stephen King has had to work like the devil to avoid being seen as 'only' a horror writer, even when his stuff is fairly mainstream. So, it's sometimes a matter of who you are, not the story.

Michael wrote: "Often the terms get tagged with writers, as well. Michael Chabon has a reputation that everything he does will be considered 'literary' even if it's a Sherlock Holmes novel (The Final Solution). Co..."

Interesting point, Michael.

I read a book recently called Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, and I felt it was pretty literary. Not much happened in terms of plot but there was a huge amount of internal character turmoil. In general I also think that everything Iain M. Banks writes is literary sci-fi.

I think there is a great divide between literary critics and readers on this. I think most critics would disregard any genre fiction as just that and reserve the term literary for strictly character driven books that align with the canonized literary books.

I think readers are more forgiving and more correct. To me any genre can produce literary fiction within the vehicle of that genre. It just happens to be a book with heavy character emphasis, complex language and ideas, and some deeper prose usage.

I am naturally a literary writer. I learned writing from literary writers and have most admired literary authors. So, when I wrote a dystopian novel, it naturally had heavy literary elements to it.

Initially when I pitched it to reviewers, I strayed from calling it literary, but most picked up on it anyway and called it literary dystopia.

I think the purists would likely disagree, but if I'm ever lucky enough to attract the NYT attention, I'll find out:)

Jeff

Great discussion.
I like artistic fiction (sorry, have a thing against the word 'literary'). I need an artistic style - oh, don't need, but thirst for. Even a rudimentary attempt at style.

But I love highly imaginative fiction: speculative, fantasy, science fiction, historical. If I can get an attention to prose, and an exploration of the human mind, while spaceships whiz overhead or a monster lurks under the bridge, I am in heaven.

Of course, people like me cite Shakespeare: back in the old days when great artists weren't afraid of popular plots... My number one writer is Dostoyevsky, who got his plots from the crime page of the newspapers and always has a murder.

I've begun to hate this word 'genre'. I'm bored to tears by 'genre' fiction that doesn't tell me about the human, that isn't aware of its language; but do we encourage or create that, by this concept of genres?

Jeffery wrote: "literary for strictly character driven books"

There are many genre fiction books that would fall flat on their face without the character. Granted they tend to set their character in situations and then see what happens. Examples might be Mitch Rapp in the Vince Flynn novels. Stephen King's Gunslinger is another. On the more literary end of the spectrum I would offer Horatio Hornblower. Perhaps because of the barnacles on the hull, these are slipping towards literary.

I enjoyed John Updike's Rabbit series immensely and it was completely character driven without a lot of story. Updike was a tremendous writer but I wouldn't quite slip him behind the glass display case of literary fiction called canonized.

While perusing the Amazon KDP Select boards, I ran across one author who had great success, some 12K downloads over a weekend. When I visited the Amazon site, the book was listed as literary fiction.

WTH? ALL this author's books are fireball erupting, blood and limb flying testosterone aisle short novels.

Oh well, from now on I'm literary fiction if that's what it takes for 12,000 downloads