The Comeback of Storytelling?

[NashVegas]

It looks like the influence of modern lit may finally be waning from fashion, or perhaps I'm just hopelessly out of date. It used to be that if you wanted good creds as a literary hipster, you had to worship at the feet of Kerouac, Toole, Kundera, Joyce, Rushdie, etc.

And it seems like from the 1980s on, if you wanted an actual story you'd be forced to make a choice between mindless page turners, a la DaVinci Code, and beautiful prose that went absolutely nowhere (Dunces). Literary masturbation more or less reigned. I retreated to Dumas, De Maupassant, and non-fiction. I confess that, outside of Handmaiden's Tale, Atwood annoyed me.

In the past two years I've picked up a few great books in the traditional mode that have been very well received, if not unquestionable commercial successes (Misfortune, How to Get Lost, Wicked) that have some actual ideas + stories. Then, there're the Potter books. I passed initially; read a first page of one of them and wasn't impressed, but I just picked up Order of the Pheonix and am happily surprised by how much the prose has improved.

If I'm not just imagining it, it's a great development. Nothing *really against* 20th century modern, it just wasn't for me - and apparently for a lot of others, or else the genre novel have been as successful as it was.

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Go outside "general fiction" some time

I think it is sad how "genre-ized" publishing has become, as it tends to hide a lot of very good authors.

I've always been partial to science fiction, fantasy, alternative history and other forms of speculative fiction. You will find literary masturbation there too, but in my opinion the standard of work is generally much better than what you find in general fiction.

[NashVegas]

5. Oh Yeah

There're plenty of fine works in genres; for a good long period I was *way* into historical fiction, and the Von Lustbader & Easterman novels, but rarely read much there that resonated with me, you know? I once read a Danielle Steele novel and though wouldn't return to her, have to admit it was very well-crafted.

[vickitulsa]

2. I hope you're right! I've always thought the dumbing down of America

to be a tragic trend, and I keep looking for any signs it may be reversing.

I passed on The Da Vinci Code but have read other Dan Brown books for light reading and enjoyed them. I sometimes like to take a break from serious reading and indulge myself in a modern thriller or suspense novel.

But I was an English major, so I'll always enjoy the classics and I appreciate good writing in modern times, too. Right now I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and it is fanastic! I highly recommend it to all.

Every time I hear the term "graphic novel," I wonder about the state of our culture. When did the distinction between "comic books" and actual writing get blurred so much?

*Sigh* I just figure I'm getting old and expect too much.

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. There is a distinction between comic books and graphic novels

Graphic novels can tell stories just as complex as a literary novel, with one key difference: rather than characters and settings being described with text, they are described with images.

Yes, some graphic novels are little more than comic books collected together, but others.... I refer you to Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman. It is based on Spiegelman's father's recollections of surviving the Holocaust in Poland and won a Pulitzer in 1992. In the novel, each group is portrayed by different animals: Jews are mice, Germans are cats, Americans are dogs, Polish non-Jews are pigs, etc. The animal depictions are never mentioned in the text, but they do a lot to futher characterization and mood and are integral to the story. Conveying that kind of information using text alone, and keeping the image before the reader at all times, would be extremely difficult.

[vickitulsa]

6. Thanks for that explanation and example.

I'm always ready to be educated in areas unfamiliar to me from personal experience, and I have not read a graphic novel -- not even one.

I am willing to consider your example as supporting your comments, but I do have one small problem with your argument. If it is impossible to convey in words the detail and depth of certain ideas and actions, then how did we get such rich fullness of detail and ideation from the great novels of the past?

Seems to me, no more than I know about graphic novels, that they might have their place but should not be substitutes for the wonderful literary works that are available to everyone. If a graphic novel gets readers interested in learning the history of an epic historical battle such as "300" may well have done, then it could be a good thing.

But if graphic novels are the endpoint in a student's literary education, then that student surely is missing so much that could benefit him or her. I wonder how many youngsters never want to reach higher or expend the effort it takes to enjoy the glories of much classic literature that seems "hard" to them?

Just from my own view, I would not forbid a child from reading graphic novels, but I'd see to it that any child under my influence or tutelage moved on to tackle books that challenge his or her comprehension abilities -- with great rewards in store when s/he masters the difficult! :)

I recall selecting classic novels off the shelf in our high school and public libraries entirely on my own, reading such works as The Scarlet Letter, Les Miserables, War and Peace, and yes, even Moby Dick! Never had any of those in lit classes, even in college. But I'm sure glad I stuck it out through the more "difficult" parts and finished them!

I always try to interest children I know in reading Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, believing as I do that it's a great way to draw them into great literature without much pain. ;)

Again, thanks for your input -- I do appreciate it. Condemning graphic novels outright would be akin to book burning, and I assure you that is something I would avoid like the plague!

I'll look into A Survivor's Tale, too.

[villager]

3. Read M.T. Anderson's "Ocatavian Nothing: Traitor to a Nation"

Came out last year, won the National Book Award (for YA fiction, which is why a lot of folks haven't -- unfortunately -- heard of it)

It's one of the most astonishing novels about race and the roots of America I've read in years.