About Fantasy Freaks & Gaming Geeks
EthanFreak blog and other blogs
ethanfreak blog
Email / Newsletter
This form does not yet contain any fields.
    Search this site
    Follow My Content
    Geek Out


    MOVIES! TRAILERS!

    >My new video "A HARD DAY'S KNIGHT," in which I don chain mail to find glory, donuts and spare change for my quest. BIGGER SCREEN ON YOU TUBE

    CLASSIC BOOK trailer! [bigger screen on YouTube]

    more videos here

    « Geek Out! | Pixels of the Past »
    Wednesday
    Aug182010

    When literary authors slum in genre

    DateWednesday, August 18, 2010 at 12:14AM tagged , , , , , , in , Print ArticlePrint Article

     

    There’s a curious phenomenon happening out there in LiteraryLand: The territory of genre fiction is being invaded by the literary camp.

    While it could be argued that literary writers have always borrowed from fantasy, science fiction and horror, even stolen genre's best ideas, I think there's a new and significant shift happening in the past few years.

    Take Justin Cronin, writer of respectable stories, who recently leaped the chasm to the dystopian, undead-ridden realm of Twilight.  With The Passage, his post-apocalyptic, doorstopper of a saga, the author enters a new universe, seemingly snubbing his former life writing “serious books” like Mary and O’Neil and The Summer Guest, which won prizes like Pen/Hemingway Award, the Whiting Writer’s Award and the Stephen Crane Prize. Both books of fiction situate themselves solidly in the camp of literary fiction. They’re set on the planet Earth we know and love. Not so with The Passage, in which mutant vampire-like creatures ravage a post-apocalyptic U.S. of A. Think Cormac McCarthy’s The Road crossed with the movie The Road Warrior, with the psychological tonnage of John Fowles’ The Magus and the “huh?” ofThe Matrix.

    Now comes Ricky Moody, whose ironic novels like The Ice Storm andPurple America were solidly in the literary camp, telling us about life in a more-or-less recognizable world. His latest novel, The Four Fingers of Death, is a big departure, blending a B-movie classic with a dark future world. The plot: A doomed U.S. space mission to Mars and a subsequent accidental release of deadly bacteria picked up on the Red Planet results in that astronaut’s severed arm surviving re-entry to earth, and reanimating to embark on a wanton rampage of strangulation.

    And there’s probably other examples I’m forgetting at the moment.

    So what’s all this forsaking of one’s literary pedigree about?

    It began with the flipside of this equation. It used to be that genre writers had to claw their way up the ivory tower in order to be recognized by the literary tastemakers. Clearly, that’s shifted, as more and more fantasy, science fiction, and horror writers have been accepted by the mainstream and given their overdue lit cred. It’s been a hard row to hoe. J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Philip Pullman and others helped blaze the trail to acceptance. Now these authors have been largely accepted into the canon. You can take university courses on fantasy literature and write dissertations on the homoerotic subtext simmering between Frodo and Sam. A whole generation, now of age and in college, grew up reading (or having read to them) the entire oeuvre of Harry Potter. That’s a sea change in the way fantasy will be seen in the future—not as some freaky subculture, but as widespread mass culture.

    Yes, Margaret Atwood and Doris Lessing have delved into genre, although their works (A Handmaid's Tale, for example) was always taken as highbrow. Perhaps a better example: Stephen King, considered a hack horror writer for years who began publishing in the New Yorker in 1990. One wonders why the New Yorker finally caved and let him in the doors --- is this an implicit acknowledgement of his popularity? Or had King's writing gotten better. In any case, it's was a shocker when he began racking up impressive literary kudos, like in 2003 when the National Book Awards handed over its annual medal for distinguished contribution to American letters to King. Recently in May, the Los Angeles Public Library gave its Literary Award for his monstrous contribution to literature.

    Now, as muggles and Mordor have entered the popular lexicon, the glitterati of literary fiction find themselves “slumming” in the darker, fouler waters of genre. (One reason: It’s probably more fun to write.) But in the end, I think it’s all about call and response. Readers want richer, more complex and more imaginative and immersive stories. Writers want an audience, and that audience increasingly reads genre. Each side—literary and genre—leeches off the other. The two camps have more or less met in the middle.

    One wonders who’s going to delve into the dark waters next—Philip Roth? Salman Rushdie? Toni Morrison? Actually, it turns they already (sort of) have --- Roth explores alternative history in The Plot Against America; 
    Rushdie's "Magical Realism," of Midnight's Children, in which children have superpowers. You might even argue that Morrison's Beloved is a ghost story.

     

    [thanks to readers at Tor.com, where this post originally appeared, for catching some errors and helping me revise this into a better essay]

    Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, which comes out in paperback in September. Contact him through his website,www.ethangilsdorf.com

    AuthorEthan Gilsdorf | Comment8 Comments |

    PrintView Printer Friendly Version

    EmailEmail Article to Friend

    Reader Comments (8)

    Beloved is totally a ghost story. Dead daughter comes back years later and won't go away.

    September 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMisterTeatime

    Interesting! Perhaps, like many trends, this one is starting on the left coast?replica breitling|

    September 20, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterronkenso

    Men will be wearing beautiful Christian Louboutin and dazzling Tiffany Jewelry lady attracted, and the beautiful トリーバーチ,withMoncler and fashionableNFL Jerseys, are attractions.
    Christian Louboutin Knockoffs,Christian Louboutin Wedding Shoes,Christian Louboutin Boots,Christian Louboutin Sandals,Christian Louboutin Wedges,Christian Louboutin Platform,Christian Louboutin Sneakers,
    Christian Louboutin Nappa Bootie,Christian Louboutin Ankle Boots,Christian Louboutin Leopard Boots,christian louboutin leopard,christian louboutin python pumps,christian louboutin black pumps,christian louboutin platform pump,Christian Louboutin Peep Toe,Christian Louboutin Declic Pumps,christian louboutin very prive pumps,Christian Louboutin Slingbacks,Christian Louboutin Cathay,Christian Louboutin High Heels,Christian Louboutin Pigalle,Christian Louboutin Mary Janes,Christian Louboutin Wedding Shoes,Christian Louboutin Declic Leather Pumps,Christian Louboutin Lace Up Boots,Christian Louboutin Robot,Christian Louboutin Peep Toe Boots,Christian Louboutin over the knee boots,christian louboutin babel boots,Christian Louboutin Bandage Boots,Christian Louboutin Bouquet Platform,Christian Louboutin Dillian Pumps,christian louboutin macarena,red sole shoes,Christian Louboutin Flats,Christian Louboutin Double Platform Sandal,Christian Louboutin Evening,christian louboutin calypso pumps,christian louboutin d'orsay,Christian Louboutin Alta Nodo,christian louboutin petal pumps,christian louboutin petal crepe satin sandal,replica christian louboutin shoes,Christian Louboutin Platform Pumps,Christian Louboutin Espadrille Wedge,Christian Louboutin Jeweled Pumps,christian louboutin cutout pump,Christian Louboutin Cutout Bootie,christian louboutin glitter pump,christian louboutin circus boots,christian louboutin sample sale,ED Hardy ED Hardy,Nike Shoes Nike Shoes,Abercrombie and Fitch Abercrombie and Fitch,Gift Ideas Gift Ideas,Tiffany Jewelry Tiffany Jewelry,Ball Bearing Ball Bearing,Christian Louboutin Christian Louboutin Discount,UGG Boots UGG Boots,EMU Boots EMU Boots,Louis Vuitton Handbags Louis Vuitton Handbags,Christian Audigier Christian Audigier，Herve Leger

    November 10, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterchristian louboutin

    witty and hip? To put our best online foot and face forward? Still, as Facebook increasingly melds with our selves, one can't help but question if it's become too easy to play the roles of voyeur, exhibitionist, and narcissist.

    January 6, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterBirkin

    Die luxuri?sen Schaffell Emu Boots von Pure Emu Australian Styles welche in Europa produziert werden zeichnen sich durch erstklassige Qualit?t, EMUEMU eh?chste Verarbeitung und bestes Schaffellleder aus, Emu Stiefel lassen sich durch Ihre natürliche Isolierung bei jedem Klima tragen.EMU Schuhe Kaufen Sie ein Paar Emu Stiefel günstig bei uns.
    Die luxuri?sen Schaffell Emu Boots von Pure Emu Australian Styles welche in Europa produziert werden zeichnen sich durch erstklassige Qualit?t, EMUEMU eh?chste Verarbeitung und bestes Schaffellleder aus, Emu Stiefel lassen sich durch Ihre natürliche Isolierung bei jedem Klima tragen.EMU Schuhe Kaufen Sie ein Paar Emu Stiefel günstig bei uns.
    Die luxuri?sen Schaffell Emu Boots von Pure Emu Australian Styles welche in Europa produziert werden zeichnen sich durch erstklassige Qualit?t, EMUEMU eh?chste Verarbeitung und bestes Schaffellleder aus, Emu Stiefel lassen sich durch Ihre natürliche Isolierung bei jedem Klima tragen.EMU Schuhe Kaufen Sie ein Paar Emu Stiefel günstig bei uns.

    January 23, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterEMU stiefel

    PostPost a New Comment

    Enter your information below to add a new comment.

    My response is on my own website »
    Author Email (optional):
    Author URL (optional):
    Post:
     
    Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
    Alert
    Comment Moderation Enabled
    Your comment will not appear until it has been cleared by a website editor. Take that spammers!

    Notify me of follow-up comments via email.