Finding someone who blends the line between a really well put together story and beautiful prose is such a treat. I especially love when it’s genre fiction. The Name of the Wind is one recent example that comes to mind, as is--ironically--The Shadow of the Wind, a completely unrelated novel.
But when it comes down to story vs prose, I’m pretty solidly team prose. There has to really be nothing happening in a book for the prose to not be enough, and even then I will read some of it and find myself not finishing the book but liking “the idea” of the book and wanted to go back to it multiple times. The most egregious example for me is Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe. The prose is beautiful and I even will quote it but I can never sit through more than a third.
On the other hand, I do occasionally love some books that are more action focused. The Red Rising series, the First Law series, and some slower mysteries like the Kurt Wallander series come to mind.
Thanks for introducing me to the term Upmarket fiction, I will check this out as it sounds like what is like to write.
Damn, this 100% resonates. You put into words something I couldn't articulate -- the tension between literature and pop fiction.
Your reaction to Colleen Hoover is exactly how I felt after reading It Ends With Us. Often, these books feel like they were written to be adapted into a meh movie (looking at you, Where the Crawdads Sing.)
Yet, when I find myself needed a palette cleanse from literature, I reach for the book candy. Especially after reading a complex & unsettling story like East of Eden. Give me the chick flick laughs & romance haha
Brilliant analysis on how "upmarket fiction" brings in the yin and yang of the genres. Reading this made me think of the Lauren Groffs and Ann Patchetts of our contemporary lit world ❤️
Great breakdown of the genres and the tension between them. I also often find myself using yin and yang so it's nice to see it used here. This is also my first encounter with the term upmarket fiction. All in all, a lovely Hegelian synthetic resolution. Merry Christmas!
Finding someone who blends the line between a really well put together story and beautiful prose is such a treat. I especially love when it’s genre fiction. The Name of the Wind is one recent example that comes to mind, as is--ironically--The Shadow of the Wind, a completely unrelated novel.
But when it comes down to story vs prose, I’m pretty solidly team prose. There has to really be nothing happening in a book for the prose to not be enough, and even then I will read some of it and find myself not finishing the book but liking “the idea” of the book and wanted to go back to it multiple times. The most egregious example for me is Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe. The prose is beautiful and I even will quote it but I can never sit through more than a third.
On the other hand, I do occasionally love some books that are more action focused. The Red Rising series, the First Law series, and some slower mysteries like the Kurt Wallander series come to mind.
Thanks for introducing me to the term Upmarket fiction, I will check this out as it sounds like what is like to write.
Damn, this 100% resonates. You put into words something I couldn't articulate -- the tension between literature and pop fiction.
Your reaction to Colleen Hoover is exactly how I felt after reading It Ends With Us. Often, these books feel like they were written to be adapted into a meh movie (looking at you, Where the Crawdads Sing.)
Yet, when I find myself needed a palette cleanse from literature, I reach for the book candy. Especially after reading a complex & unsettling story like East of Eden. Give me the chick flick laughs & romance haha
Brilliant analysis on how "upmarket fiction" brings in the yin and yang of the genres. Reading this made me think of the Lauren Groffs and Ann Patchetts of our contemporary lit world ❤️
Great breakdown of the genres and the tension between them. I also often find myself using yin and yang so it's nice to see it used here. This is also my first encounter with the term upmarket fiction. All in all, a lovely Hegelian synthetic resolution. Merry Christmas!