Are Book Genres Meaningless?

[Shade]

speculative fiction equals literary fiction

Clearly you haven't read anything by Sean Wright.

 

[Billy]

Science Fiction and Speculative fiction are different. Genre fiction does not equal literary fiction and specualtive fiction does not equal genre fiction but speculative fiction equals literary fiction.

What about literary genre? Once again I will clarify what my point was and that was that ALL books are categorised at some point and placed into a genre, no matter what section of a bookshop they live in.

I understand that genre fiction is written to fit into a specific literary genre, but my argument is that it really makes no difference to me because after studying a novel I will still place it into a category or genre. So when someone asks me what type of book All quiet on the Western Front is, I will tell them it belongs in the war genre and when someone asks me what type of book The First Man in Rome is, I will tell them it is historical fiction. Both these books would be found in the fiction section of the bookstore, but they both very obviously belong to specific genres.

Actually, it can. There are a huge number of throwaway novels out there (Dan Brown's, for example) and these are only interested in the plot. You can say, if you want, that The Da Vinci Code is about the Holy Grail, or whatever, but, when it comes down to it, the book's plot is its theme. It's all about the plot. Little, if anything, is given to exploring the characters, the setting, the implications, or the conflict of beliefs based on the content. It's all about the plot.

I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree on this, Stewart. I have never read Dan Brown and don't intend to, but that makes no difference. The point is that I believe that plot and theme are two totally different things and you don't. No amount of arguing about it will change either of our views, so we will have to accept that on this we will get nowhere debating the issue.

 

[Stewart]

The point is that I believe that plot and theme are two totally different things and you don't.

Er, I also believe they are two different things, the theme being what the book is about and the plot being how the story happens. In utter shite like The Da Vinci Code the book is about nothing more than the plot; ergo it's theme is its plot.

 

[ions]

Clearly you haven't read anything by Sean Wright.

You are correct. I have not. Is this a recommendation?

 

[Jemima Aslana]

Er, I also believe they are two different things, the theme being what the book is about and the plot being how the story happens. In utter shite like The Da Vinci Code the book is about nothing more than the plot; ergo it's theme is its plot.

Or maybe it doesn't have a theme? Or maybe it's a thriller like they say in the bookstores around here, which have suddenly given it a theme other than plot. There are many options.

 

[Stewart]

You are correct. I have not. Is this a recommendation?

Try this excerpt from Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow; you can read more of his fantastic prose on his website.

Eventually they arrived in a secluded wood, high above the Border Barricade. They were side by side with Perigold and the Dragon Hunter. They dismounted the flyboard, and the Dragon Hunter climbed steadily off Perigold's back. They crept as close as they could without being spotted, making sure that they were camouflaged by the thick undergrowth. Below, they could see trouble.

'I no be a-liking the look of this,' the Gobitt whispered.

'Nor do I,' Jesse echoed.

There were hundreds of crows, transforming into witches, hags, and warlocks. They were shaking hands and hugging each other. Jesse could see that some were playing practical jokes, leaving sticky notes on a few hunched backs, which said things like 'kick me hard - I won't feel a thing!' or 'kiss me quick - before I turn into a toad!' Others were huddled around a steaming cauldron, tossing in toes of tadpoles, tails of bats, and wings of newts.

'We seem to be rather out-numbered,' Perigold said, as soon as he had changed into his human form. He looked through a small, but very powerful bronze telescope. 'And I spy a much bigger problem than hundreds of cackling enchantresses and spellmakers, and miles of razor-sharp barbed wire, and five lookout turrets armed with spotlights and cross-bow carrying soldiers ... '

'It couldn't be much worse, could it?' Jesse said, feeling overwhelmed by the odds against them.

'It is. Much worse. I can see the witch, Gwendrith, Dendrith's sister. She's surrounded by admiring followers - no doubt sucking up to her, and telling her how divinely ugly she is.'

'Where?'

Perigold handed the telescope to Jesse, and pointed in Gwendrith's direction.

As she focused it, a blurred mass of witches and wire became a single crystal-clear image of the vilest-looking creature Jesse had ever seen. She was unbearably thin, dressed in a long black cloak and carrying a battered old broom. Beneath the pointed black hat, Jesse spied a ghastly sight. Her paper-thin skin was a greenish-brown. There was black hair sprouting out of her nose and ears. The hair dangling out from her hat was black, long, and tangled. Her putrid face was thin and weaselish. Her eyes were small black holes, and above them grew dark bushy eyebrows which almost joined in the middle. Her nose was long and thin and crooked, like a vulture's beak. Her mouth was narrow, like a thin pale zip that had been puckered. A single rotten tooth protruded out, rabbit-fashion, over her bottom lip, and a stream of slimy drool ran down her chin.

'She's disgusting!' Jesse groaned.

'She's the beautiful sister,' Perigold said, and he was not joking. 'Dendrith is so foul that the sight of her turns people's stomachs and they are violently sick.'

At that moment, Gwendrith froze, twisted menacingly, and stared straight at Jesse. She snarled, although no sound could be heard, and a swarm of wasps flew out of her mouth. It was a most unnerving experience. Even though the witch was a mile away, it felt as if she were right next to her, probing her mind. Jesse threw the telescope down, shuddered, and let out a squeal of fear.

'What's wrong?' Perigold asked, a tremor of fear in his own voice. 'She knows we're here. She was staring right at me.'

'Impossible,' the Dragon Hunter said.

'Gwendrith a-being a powerful creature,' the Gobbit said. 'Tis nothing beyond her sensings.'

'Be quiet!' the Dragon Hunter growled. 'I am tired of your-'

But it was too late. Their presence had indeed been rumbled. The Border Barricade sprang into a hive of activity. Sirens wailed. Witches took to the skies on broomsticks. Warlocks gathered in groups, casting spells and curses. Hags cackled around the cauldron, uttering words and phrases with strange rhythms. Spotlights flashed this way and that - scanning, searching for intruders. Soldiers aimed their weapons. The swarm of wasps rose up like a tornado.

'What shall we do?' Jesse said shakily.

Rather than just self-publish it with Lulu or some other piece of crap; Sean went one further and founded his own vanity press to publish his books so that they would look more legitimate.

 

[ions]

Thank you for the recommendation. I will see what I can do about tracking a copy of one of his down.

 

[Doug Johnson]

he's not exporing the sacred feminine mythos

If you're smart enough to know that I was going to bring up sacred femine next, you're smart enough to know why. Sacred feminine is "a distinct, recurring, and unifying idea." The sacred feminine is not, "a pattern of events."

The reason it's important, is because if you study Dan Brown's sales history he didn't "breakout" until he created a unique compelling theme that connected with readers. There's a lesson there.