Armchair BEA – Day 3 – Literary Fiction
Hmm… literary fiction – how do you even define that?
What’s literary fiction for me could be utter crap to you and vice versa. Heck, I bet half of us (myself included) can’t even define literary fiction – which is why I Goggled it to find a good definition so I could at least write a post without looking like a complete idiot (part idiot is fine, I do it on a daily base).
I’ve visited several sites, all by established authors, publishers and editors (and Wikipedia) and no-one seems to agree on what literary fiction actually is. However, the one common theme to all is that literary fiction is character driven rather than plot driven and is “elegantly written, lyrical, and … layered” – something so abstract and general that you’d be hard pressed to find two people who agree on what that means.
So here is the problem, if someone asked me to read a character driven, lyrical book I’d probably pass on it. That being said, I read these types of books before and some I actually loved.
So the questions still remain: what is my favorite literary fiction book I read this year and which ones would I recommend?
Well, here they are (not in order) – I just hope they fit the genre:
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid is a fictional book in guise of a self-help book (but with a story).
The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy is a novella written in 1889. At times this novella seemed like a rant that goes on page after page, but taken as a whole I can certainly see the genius behind it.
Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende is a fictional novel and a coming of age story. Ms. Allende is an award winning, internationally famous, Chilean writer.
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is the long awaited novel by this bestselling author. Mr. Hoseini’s previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, sold more than 38 million books.
My Ántonia by Willa Cather was written in 1918 and is considered the last in the “Prairie Trilogy” following O Pioneers! (review) And The Song of the Lark. This book is considered one of the greatest novels written by an American.
Zohar – Man of la Book
11 Comments
You’ve nailed it – the enigma that is “literary fiction”. It has been quite interesting to see all the different definitions, or even the same definition with vastly different interpretations of the genre.
It seems that many people had to look up the definition of literary fiction today. I think that it is so subjective but I agree with your choices. I’ve got Maya’s Notebook on my TBR list.
I’ve never heard of any of those books, but I know Isabel Allende is amazing! I have yet to read any of her books, but I would say that she is a a writer of literature! 😀
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I haven’t read Hamid’s new book yet, but I’m looking so forward to it. What a great choice.
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Gah! I totally forgot about KH’s books when I made my list! I’m dying to read that new one.
I’m very curious about Maya’s Notebook, as I’m a huge fan of Isabel Allende’s writing.
Great post!! Defining literary fiction is so difficult but it’s been so interesting looking at posts about it and different interpretations! So many interesting books! I bookmarked this post so I can look at them later! Thanks for sharing!
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I’ve only read one Willa Cather book so far (I can’t even remember which one right now), but I definitely plan on reading more. Same goes for Allende! And Hosseini. And haha you’re so right – literary fiction is a pretty amorphous term – but that makes defining it a more personal choice, which is kind of awesome.
I recently got to see Isabel Allende speak! She was amazing!
That’s very cool.
I’ve got How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia checked out from the library, but I keep visiting blogs instead of reading books!