Our class had a discussion about what literary fiction is and the "code words" we might hear from readers --the words they use to ask for or describe literary fiction. I believe our class is made up of working librarians - maybe all in public libraries but I'm not sure.
Here was my definition for literary fiction, which was one of our questions after reading The End of Literary Fiction by Robert McCrum and a brief synopsis from Joyce Sarick's book. My reply I see a tie-in with the word literature. I studied literature in high school and college and was assigned to read the "classics" of literature. Won't some of the titles we describe as literary fiction become the classics from the 20th and 21st centuries? I can accept a definition of Award-winning books or Saricks' description of often character-centered, provocative, complex or multi-layered literature and the reader's enjoyment of prose or writing style. For example, I can remember reading Middlemarch in college and, even with its length, going back and re-reading sentences or paragraphs just for the beauty of the language. But, of course, I accept that there are good and bad books labeled as literary fiction (even award winners) that turn people off and cause such books to be labeled pretentious. I, too, would be turned off by affected prose such as "furious dabs of tulips stuttering" which McCrum cites. ((My apologies to the author - this may be a very fine book - don't have a citation to the book)
This edited comment from one of the classmates, summed up many classmates' reaction:
I must admit, being a contemporary fiction/romance reader, it took me a little while to get into it. But once I started I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next. It was a moving story and I am glad I read it. Would I read another? Maybe some time in the future.
"I always considered literary fiction to encompass both the classics and the award winners. Works ranging from Theodore Dreiser, Joseph Conrad, and Virginia Wolfe to Toni Morrison and Ian McEwan among others. These are the "serious" reads that don't fall into a particular genre. Many would consider these books intellectual; you have to actually think while reading. The plots and characters are well crafted and complex. These are the books one brags about reading and suggests for book clubs."
Another classmate commented: "At this point I don't have a solid definition for what literary fiction is. As I see in other posts here, we tend to feel that it tends to fall outside of the genre categories we've discussed so far. There is often some focus on the writing or on some literary features.
And from another: "I would define literary fiction as what would fall outside the defined genres of mystery, romance, etc., and would be more writer-ly and serious, though not necessarily on a serious subject. The focus of the book would be on characters, style, and depth, rather than page-turning action."
Another's observation: "Other than the cover, I think one of the more physical characteristics is the number of words on a page - - in some of the latest James Patterson books I've looked at, the margins and font are verge large and the text seems to be double spaced - - in literary fiction it seems more often the complexity of the story is represented by more words per page. . . though this idea probably can't be backed up by data. "
Several people mentioned that literary fiction seems to be fiction outside defined genres but there is still a huge number of fiction books that aren't genres or literary fiction so what do we call those books - fiction (by default)??????
So, anyone reading this, if you have a better sense of literary fiction or a definition or checklist of qualifiers, please share. Are there colleges with courses in literary fiction that offer a definition or list of authors?
Or a blogger who would suggest their favorite work(s) of literary fiction?
It seems as if none of us in the class are literary fiction readers on a regular basis although we read quite a lot in genres. Why is that? Lack of interest, lack of time, stay within our comfort zone of mysteries or romances, etc.? Hard to find these titles? And what about our public? Can our fast-paced, less-text based, shorter attention span or faster absorption rate (commercials several seconds shorter than they were in the past) mean we're unwilling or unable to devote the time to literary fiction or length or complexity is too different from other media? Or am I way off base - I've looked at no statistics/research about the readership of literary fiction, publishing data . . . . So, am I predicting the death of literary fiction RA too soon or out-of-ignorance? And, I'm not being snobbish since I don't read a lot of literary fiction titles.
I think it would help if our library offered book discussions to get us more used to picking meaty, complex works to discussion. And, BTW, we have a fantastic READ section within Wisconsin Library Assoc. and there are many fine members who write reviews and articles, offer book discussions and book talks. So, I and others should take advantage of our opportunities to see the best in action at WLA conferences.
Our second question was: What do you think some of the code phrases/words are for a customer who really is looking for lit fic? People will ask for award winners and many are more specific - come in with a list and refer to Booker or Pulitizer, etc. just as other people come in with the latest picks in People Magazine. People have used words like "serious" fiction, academic fiction, something to keep me interested, something I can dig into. Others ask what's on the best-seller list, what's a book everyone is talking about, ask about or have a list from NPR, an author they've seen on TV, does X author have a new book out, what would be a good book to read, what would be a good choice for our book club, what good fiction is out there, etc. <
> Or, people say, I spent the summer reading light fiction and I'd like something heavier/more challenging for the winter. . . . Or, I enjoyed this books so much, what is similar
some of my classmates wrote:
The key words I would use for literary fiction would be serious, award winning, deep, thoughtful and complex. Another added critically-acclaimed
Another: "Patrons might ask for something more "serious" or, in my library, "not a paperback" (based on the way things are shelved, indicates not a massmarket paperback and by extension the authors that are issued in massmarket paperbacks) - - the biggest hint I've found is by asking what authors they like and what they like about books - - if they give more abstract qualities or can't give any qualities at all, I find it frequently an indicator of the more literary fiction."
