If I had to rank my favorite genres, I’d say mystery & thriller comes on top. (obviously). And second position would be occupied by literary fiction. Maybe YA on third, romance on fourth & so on and so forth but literary fiction would certainly be in the top 2.
Literary fiction is easier to define by what it’s not rather than what it is. If you read something that does not primarily focus on a romantic plot, a grizzly mystery or a superb fantasy setting, then you are most probably reading a literary fiction. In other words, I have absolutely no idea what literary fiction classifies as; and apparently neither does google.
I did not always enjoy this genre. It actually used to be one of those reads which you buy because it’s hyped & the cover is just mesmerizing but it always sits unread on the shelf. Now I cannot stop myself from starting to read the story which might be at times tedious and a total drag. (I am serious)
1-Controversial genre
Rarely will you see a mystery or horror being rated as controversial. Romances? Sure. Many have even been banned but the literary fiction is not controversial in the same way as a romance. It is controversial because…. well, people don’t enjoy it much. And I cannot blame people. This is the genre without rules! Theres no distinct writing style or preferred tropes or cheesy cliches.
A writer may write words that will continue to reside within you, looming over your conscious like a dark shadow, haunting your very existence, concealing itself somewhere deep in your mind, a concept that sticks with you till the very end.
Something infinitely beautiful!
Alternatively, a writer may also write something so disdainful that you rub your eyes with soap, and throw the book in a canal (not recommended) curse the publishers who decided to bring this horrendous book to people’s reach.
Something disgusting and/or really stupid!
Like I said! Controversial!
One of the most attractive/ repulsive aspect of the book is that they are not plot driven. Something may or may not happen in 700 pages. Most people don’t have that much patience.
The stories are character driven. Slow yet progressive. Crawling is still moving forward. By the end of the novel, we see our character sort out their problem…. Or learn to live with them. And sometimes there are satisfying endings. Other times, these books leave you staring up at the ceiling at 3 am, questioning your life purpose.
Either way, I’d say it’s fun.
Sometimes the plot is almost non-existent. The traumatized wife who is agonized by her monotonous routine doesn’t find a way out. The lawyer still has a win rate of 30%. The doctor fails & patient dies. The man who was losing his job in the beginning still loses it in the end. We do a complete circle and somehow end at our starting point. But the main focus is not the plot so it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the character. And of course, all genres share protagonists and antagonists with major character development. But literary fiction doesn’t even guarantee that.
Seems fun, doesn’t it?
3- Slow……literally
Very, very tedious. The writer will tell you how or hero gets a new job at a patent office and then will write a few paragraphs about the history of patent offices and how Einstein had to work in one and how he was a genius and how his boss was not and how he was so unkind to everyone but the janitor for some reason.
And then how his boss’s only child came to work one day and told everyone about his trip to the circus and how life is actually a circus stage and we all are performers that are going to be replaced by other performers when we no longer perform the acrobatics with that much flexibility and how the circus of life will continue no matter who the performers are. So, in short nothing actually matters….
And then the writer will tell you why he works in that office and how is his life. (the whole thing interrupted by another two out-of-the-story paragraphs)
And this is not necessarily the writing style of every writer but it is most of the time similar to it and to be honest I actually enjoy it.
People like a straight-to-the-point story. A meal they can instantly enjoy. They do not want to smell the fresh ingredients and watch them boil and broil. Naturally when the writer strays a little bit away from the path, so does the attention of the reader. You need to appreciate the process.
I like literary fiction because they bring a certain sense of calm. No drama or serial killings. By the end of the book, you are not even sure whether the plot has improved or anything has changed at all but you feel at ease. You are certain that you have enjoyed the book.
4-Some famous books
One of the notorious literary fictions, which almost everyone has read is “A Christmas Carol” which centers around the character of Scrooge and his attitude towards the holiday.
Some others are “The Great Gatsby”, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “The Bell Jar” & “1984”. (I have no idea how some of these are actually literary fiction but I trust google and so should you).
A few recent books include “A Little Life”, “Normal People”, “Beautiful world! Where are you?”, “On Earth, we’re briefly Gorgeous”, “All the Light we cannot see”.
Some of my favorites are: “Tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow”
“Pineapple Street”, “Where the Crawdads sing” and “Someone Else’s Shoes”
There are many other books which are not considered lit fic by the internet but I think they are. For example, I think John Greens novels should be considered a bit lit fiction. They are YA of course. But I don’t think it would be wrong to call them lit fiction. For example, Paper Towns, I think is a beautiful YA literary fiction.
How it portrays the basic nature of human and their emotions play with them. How sometimes love is delusional and it makes us believe that we are in a tunnel and we will see light at the other end soon but we are actually trapped in a cave and should’ve bought a shovel and flashlight instead of the picnic basket and a straw hat.
See? Delusional.
But we all interpret stories differently, don’t we?
5- Types of Lit Fiction.
There is contemporary of course then there’s traditional. Theres also experimental philosophical and many more. The common point of all these types is the driving force behind the story, if it is a story at all. The force which is character driven and tells us the story from the perspective of the personality and character of our protagonist.
As I’ve said earlier, lit fiction is not that praised by the people but those who enjoy it, cannot live without a good piece once in a while. I, myself prefer to read a good literary fiction after I’ve read new thrillers or reread Sherlock Holmes.
Happy reading!
Rarely will you see a mystery or horror being rated as controversial. Romances? Sure. Many have even been banned but the literary fiction is not controversial in the same way as a romance. It is controversial because…. well, people don’t enjoy it much. And I cannot blame people. This is the genre without rules! Theres no distinct writing style or preferred tropes or cheesy cliches.
A writer may write words that will continue to reside within you, looming over your conscious like a dark shadow, haunting your very existence, concealing itself somewhere deep in your mind, a concept that sticks with you till the very end.
Something infinitely beautiful!
Alternatively, a writer may also write something so disdainful that you rub your eyes with soap, and throw the book in a canal (not recommended) curse the publishers who decided to bring this horrendous book to people’s reach.
Something disgusting and/or really stupid!
Like I said! Controversial!
2-A very different theme
One of the most attractive/ repulsive aspect of the book is that they are not plot driven. Something may or may not happen in 700 pages. Most people don’t have that much patience.
The stories are character driven. Slow yet progressive. Crawling is still moving forward. By the end of the novel, we see our character sort out their problem…. Or learn to live with them. And sometimes there are satisfying endings. Other times, these books leave you staring up at the ceiling at 3 am, questioning your life purpose.
Either way, I’d say it’s fun.
Sometimes the plot is almost non-existent. The traumatized wife who is agonized by her monotonous routine doesn’t find a way out. The lawyer still has a win rate of 30%. The doctor fails & patient dies. The man who was losing his job in the beginning still loses it in the end. We do a complete circle and somehow end at our starting point. But the main focus is not the plot so it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the character. And of course, all genres share protagonists and antagonists with major character development. But literary fiction doesn’t even guarantee that.
Seems fun, doesn’t it?
3- Slow……literally
Very, very tedious. The writer will tell you how or hero gets a new job at a patent office and then will write a few paragraphs about the history of patent offices and how Einstein had to work in one and how he was a genius and how his boss was not and how he was so unkind to everyone but the janitor for some reason.
And then how his boss’s only child came to work one day and told everyone about his trip to the circus and how life is actually a circus stage and we all are performers that are going to be replaced by other performers when we no longer perform the acrobatics with that much flexibility and how the circus of life will continue no matter who the performers are. So, in short nothing actually matters….
And then the writer will tell you why he works in that office and how is his life. (the whole thing interrupted by another two out-of-the-story paragraphs)
And this is not necessarily the writing style of every writer but it is most of the time similar to it and to be honest I actually enjoy it.
People like a straight-to-the-point story. A meal they can instantly enjoy. They do not want to smell the fresh ingredients and watch them boil and broil. Naturally when the writer strays a little bit away from the path, so does the attention of the reader. You need to appreciate the process.
I like literary fiction because they bring a certain sense of calm. No drama or serial killings. By the end of the book, you are not even sure whether the plot has improved or anything has changed at all but you feel at ease. You are certain that you have enjoyed the book.
4-Some famous books
One of the notorious literary fictions, which almost everyone has read is “A Christmas Carol” which centers around the character of Scrooge and his attitude towards the holiday.
Some others are “The Great Gatsby”, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “The Bell Jar” & “1984”. (I have no idea how some of these are actually literary fiction but I trust google and so should you).
A few recent books include “A Little Life”, “Normal People”, “Beautiful world! Where are you?”, “On Earth, we’re briefly Gorgeous”, “All the Light we cannot see”.
Some of my favorites are: “Tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow”
“Pineapple Street”, “Where the Crawdads sing” and “Someone Else’s Shoes”
There are many other books which are not considered lit fic by the internet but I think they are. For example, I think John Greens novels should be considered a bit lit fiction. They are YA of course. But I don’t think it would be wrong to call them lit fiction. For example, Paper Towns, I think is a beautiful YA literary fiction.
How it portrays the basic nature of human and their emotions play with them. How sometimes love is delusional and it makes us believe that we are in a tunnel and we will see light at the other end soon but we are actually trapped in a cave and should’ve bought a shovel and flashlight instead of the picnic basket and a straw hat.
See? Delusional.
But we all interpret stories differently, don’t we?
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5- Types of Lit Fiction.
There is contemporary of course then there’s traditional. Theres also experimental philosophical and many more. The common point of all these types is the driving force behind the story, if it is a story at all. The force which is character driven and tells us the story from the perspective of the personality and character of our protagonist.
As I’ve said earlier, lit fiction is not that praised by the people but those who enjoy it, cannot live without a good piece once in a while. I, myself prefer to read a good literary fiction after I’ve read new thrillers or reread Sherlock Holmes.
Happy reading!
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