Definitions for literary, mainstream, and commercial/genre are slippery, and not everyone agrees on every point. Literary, at its roots, simply means having to do with words, and yet, many people classify fiction into two separate camps: literary and commercial. My personal definition is this: Fiction is an umbrella term for stories about imaginary events and/or people. Genre is separated into styles that adhere to reader expectations. Literary is one of the many genres of fiction.
So what then is literary-genre? I think it starts with a commercial framework (science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, historical fiction, or thriller) but either the prose becomes as much a part of the story as the plot (sometimes slowing the pacing more than action-oriented readers are used to), or the themes emphasize some aspect of the human condition rather than focusing solely on the plot elements. (This is not to say that commercial fiction isn't character driven, it most often is these days, just that heavier themes associated more with literary fiction are generally not delved into as deeply.) Though there’s less literary-genre published than straight literary or straight genre, there’s still plenty out there—both in movies and novels.
I’ve found some of my favorite novels in that gray space between genres. I discovered Kurt Vonnegut in my high school library and read every book of his they had. (I also read Catch-22 in high school, which wasn’t SFF but weird enough to nearly qualify - and the same could be said for my favorite literary author, John Irving.) Books like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (or movies like Mystic River, The Green Mile, and many others) may be categorized as literary despite their fantasy or science fiction elements. Books such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Watership Down, The Once and Future King, and many others may be shelved in SFF but referred to as literary. In my 20’s I loved John Crowley’s Little Big, Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels, Gene Wolfe’s New Sun books, and all of Ursula Le Guin. In the past decade, I discovered and devoured whole collections by China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and Tim Powers. I’ve enjoyed Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and Jeff Vandermeer’s Area X trilogy. In just the past year I’ve read Samuel Delany’s Dhalgren, Jason Gurley’s Eleanor, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Michael Cisco’s The Narrator, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
My first novel, A Borrowed Hell, will be released in just over a week by Shirtsleeve Press. I don't know how individual readers will classify it but, in my opinion, the plot is more commercial than literary, the prose falls somewhere in-between, and the themes of the story are more literary than commercial. Here’s a little bit about it:
Fate has dealt July Davish a lifetime of nothings; no happy childhood, no lasting relationships, and now, no job. His mantra of perseverance has gotten him this far but, faced with losing his home, July finds himself heading for the same road of self-destruction the rest of his family followed. When a nearby car accident sends him diving for safety he lands instead on a far different road, one in a bizarrely deserted San Francisco. July is willing to do anything to end his world-hopping, right up until he learns the price: reliving a past he's tried his whole life to forget. He’s not sure his sanity can take revisiting the neglect and grief that surrounded him growing up. Not even to get back to his own world, a woman he’s falling in love with, and a life he finally cares about.
Despite my love of words and of literary-leaning SFF, I’m not normally a reader of straight literary. I’ve found that unless a book has an element of weird, it just isn’t likely to hold my interest. And just because I prefer literary leaning SFF, I’m not certainly implying anything negative about commercial prose or themes. I’ve read and enjoyed plenty over the years. If you’re like me and enjoy a little bit of both in your reading, I hope you’ll check out A Borrowed Hell.
So what then is literary-genre? I think it starts with a commercial framework (science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, historical fiction, or thriller) but either the prose becomes as much a part of the story as the plot (sometimes slowing the pacing more than action-oriented readers are used to), or the themes emphasize some aspect of the human condition rather than focusing solely on the plot elements. (This is not to say that commercial fiction isn't character driven, it most often is these days, just that heavier themes associated more with literary fiction are generally not delved into as deeply.) Though there’s less literary-genre published than straight literary or straight genre, there’s still plenty out there—both in movies and novels.
I’ve found some of my favorite novels in that gray space between genres. I discovered Kurt Vonnegut in my high school library and read every book of his they had. (I also read Catch-22 in high school, which wasn’t SFF but weird enough to nearly qualify - and the same could be said for my favorite literary author, John Irving.) Books like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (or movies like Mystic River, The Green Mile, and many others) may be categorized as literary despite their fantasy or science fiction elements. Books such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Watership Down, The Once and Future King, and many others may be shelved in SFF but referred to as literary. In my 20’s I loved John Crowley’s Little Big, Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels, Gene Wolfe’s New Sun books, and all of Ursula Le Guin. In the past decade, I discovered and devoured whole collections by China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and Tim Powers. I’ve enjoyed Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and Jeff Vandermeer’s Area X trilogy. In just the past year I’ve read Samuel Delany’s Dhalgren, Jason Gurley’s Eleanor, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Michael Cisco’s The Narrator, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
My first novel, A Borrowed Hell, will be released in just over a week by Shirtsleeve Press. I don't know how individual readers will classify it but, in my opinion, the plot is more commercial than literary, the prose falls somewhere in-between, and the themes of the story are more literary than commercial. Here’s a little bit about it:
Fate has dealt July Davish a lifetime of nothings; no happy childhood, no lasting relationships, and now, no job. His mantra of perseverance has gotten him this far but, faced with losing his home, July finds himself heading for the same road of self-destruction the rest of his family followed. When a nearby car accident sends him diving for safety he lands instead on a far different road, one in a bizarrely deserted San Francisco. July is willing to do anything to end his world-hopping, right up until he learns the price: reliving a past he's tried his whole life to forget. He’s not sure his sanity can take revisiting the neglect and grief that surrounded him growing up. Not even to get back to his own world, a woman he’s falling in love with, and a life he finally cares about.
Despite my love of words and of literary-leaning SFF, I’m not normally a reader of straight literary. I’ve found that unless a book has an element of weird, it just isn’t likely to hold my interest. And just because I prefer literary leaning SFF, I’m not certainly implying anything negative about commercial prose or themes. I’ve read and enjoyed plenty over the years. If you’re like me and enjoy a little bit of both in your reading, I hope you’ll check out A Borrowed Hell.
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