Write Ghettoized Fiction or Die Tryin’
Written byPosted on December 29, 2005
Filed Under Book Reviewing, Literary Motifs, Speculative Fiction
In the latest edition of Emerald City, Matthew Cheney offers us “Literary Fiction for People Who Hate Literary Fiction.” Cheney writes, “A reader only interested in a narrow type of writing (hard SF, for instance) is not going to find much pleasure from any literary fiction, but a reader who is interested in experiencing new realities, strange visions, visceral horror, and supernatural events has plenty to choose from,” and proceeds to offer a helpful list of authors for those who’d like to experience some of these alternative visions.
I think, however, it goes without saying that there’s a similar stigma working in reverse. I’m talking about a certain type of literary person who simply will not pick up a book penned by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Octavia Butler, China Mieville, Rupert Thompson, Gene Wolfe or Donald Westlake, precisely because the book is categorized in the mystery or science fiction sections of the bookstore. Sure, the literary person will pick up Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and go nuts over it because it is categorized in the fiction section or in some sense crowned by the tastemakers as “literary,” little realizing that Philip K. Dick explored similar ethical questions about cloning in his 1968 novella, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (later turned into Blade Runner), as did Kate Wilhelm in Where Late the Sweet Birds Sing and David Brin in Glory Season. The list goes on.
In fact, when we examine the rave reviews given to Ishiguro, we find a profound misunderstanding, if not an outright belittling, of science fiction:
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times: “So subtle is Mr. Ishiguro’s depiction of this alternate world that it never feels like a cheesy set from ”The Twilight Zone,” but rather a warped but recognizable version of our own.”
Louis Menand, The New Yorker, on the book’s ending: “It’s a little Hollywood, and the elucidation is purchased at too high a price. The scene pushes the novel over into science fiction, and this is not, at heart, where it seems to want to be.”
Siddhartha Deb, The New Statesman: “This unusual premise, emerging through Kathy’s memories, does not lead us into the realm of speculative science fiction. Unlike Margaret Atwood in Oryx and Crake (2003), Ishiguro is not interested in using the idea of cloning to conjure up a panoramic dystopia.”
These all come from non-academic publications which might be considered “of value” to the literary enthusiast. And yet note the way that Kakutani is relieved that Ishiguro’s book doesn’t inhabit the realm of science fiction (indeed, failing to cite a specific science fiction book in her comparison). Or the way that Menand suggests that the novel’s ending is “pushed over into science fiction.” (Never mind that, by way of its story, Never Let You Go, with its premise of engineered clones, its near-future setting, and its shadowy governments, is indisputably a science fiction novel. So the idea that it would be pushed into a genre it already inhabits is absurd and contradictory.) Meanwhile Deb praises the novel’s “unusual premise” but, despite Ishiguro’s science fiction elements, it somehow does not fall into the redundant term of “speculative science fiction.”
What we have here is a strange reviewing climate transmitting a clear and resounding message to the literary enthusiasts who read the reviews. If a novel manages to convince a sophisticate or a literary enthusiast that it does not inhabit a genre, then it is, in fact, literature. If, however, there is a single experiential passage reminiscent of or explicitly describing bug-eyed monsters or aliens or clones, then sorry, but you’re taking a gritty stroll in the ghetto and you should be ashamed of yourself for taking off your evening gown and putting on some old sweats. Is this really so different from the backlash Dan Green recently identified against experimental fiction?
Of course, M. John Harrison, himself a fantastic science fiction writer, was one of the few to observe, “[Y]ou’re thrown back on the obvious explanation: the novel is about its own moral position on cloning. But that position has been visited before (one thinks immediately of Michael Marshall Smith’s savage 1996 offering, Spares). There’s nothing new here; there’s nothing all that startling; and there certainly isn’t anything to argue with.”
The fact that the literary climate refuses to examine, much less acknowledge, Ishiguro’s antecedents suggests not only that the genre stigma holds true, but that today’s reviewers operate with a deliberate myopia towards those authors who would innovate along similar lines in other genres. For the genre-snubbing literary enthusiast, there is something new in Ishiguro. The new realities, the visceral horror — all presented in a seemingly fresh way. But the very lack of inclusiveness in this approach is not only unfair, but critically unsound.
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Generosity by Richard Powers. It doesn't come out until September 29th, but Richard Powers's latest will have anyone committed to books reconsidering their literary fervor. I foresee some animosity from the vanilla critics hostile to idea-driven novels, but book bloggers, YouTube chroniclers, and MFAs would do well to plunge into this chance-taking narrative, which introduces vital questions about what the reader's relationship is with media, scientific dissection, and "creative nonfiction." Are we rats fleeing to happy cities? Or can we find the humanism within the purported plague?
Pieces for the Left Hand by J. Robert Lennon. Lennon is one of the most underrated fiction writers working today. Much as On the Night Plain proved that Lennon had a lot more in the toolbox than heartfelt (and often very funny) suburban satire, this slim but fascinating volume juxtaposes 100 small-town anecdotes -- arranged by category -- in a manner that reads, at times, like Nicholson Baker's passions for minutiae and, at other times, Stewart O'Nan's concern for psychological detail. The result is fiction that makes us wonder about whether one person's subjective view of particulars can entirely be trusted. This book never found a publisher in 2005. But thankfully, Graywolf has released it in the United States, along with Lennon's latest novel, The Castle.
Wonderful World by Javier Calvo. This wonderfully raucous volume has been completely ignored by the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. But it's probably one of the most delightful reading experiences I've had this year. Calvo cavalierly mashes up multiple genres and manages to mix up familial subtext with larger-than-life, almost cartoonish characters. (Indeed, one might argue that one mobster's penis is a character of its own in this sprawling novel.). This is not an easy thing to pull off, but Calvo makes it work. And it's helped immeasurably by Mara Faye Lethem's idiom-specific translation. (See longer post.)
The Means of Reproduction, Michelle Goldberg This thoughtful book tackles the complicated (and little discussed) subject of reproductive rights from numerous angles, which includes a number of unpleasant but necessary ones. The upshot is that there isn't a quick fix solution for declining birth rates and fundamentalist abuses. Just about every political faction has contributed to the friction. But you'll want to read this book anyway to refamiliarize yourself with the topic, but also to understand just what's occurred during the past several decades to get us where we are today. (See also podcast interview with Goldberg.)
Well said. I always get miffed when the “literary” crowd disparges sci fi and fantasy. They mock it and refuse to read anything shelved in the genre section, but they gush over Ishiguro or Susanna Clarke.
Hey, that’s the trouble with tribbles, man.
As one who reads, nowadays, mostly the literary fare, I thought I’d mention a few things. First off, I got my start in reading mysteries, fantasy, and sci-fi. My earliest favorites were such as Heinlein (Pretty much everything, though The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is the best), Asimov (Foundation!), Dick, Bear(particularly Darwin’s Radio), Butler (mainly the earthseed stuff), Herbert (all of Dune), Bill Ransom etc… And slowly, as I became interested in writing, I began to focus on the more literary works. Kafka, Joyce, Hemingway, Faulkner, Ishiguro, Murakami, etc… I would say that generally the “literary” stuff has more to offer, at least on a consistent basis, but there is a lot of great genre stuff out there. Many of the people I know that stick w/ the “literary” (and I know a lot, particularly poets) love “Ender’s Game,” and a lot of other genre work. They are just generally more selective. For example, many peole love Jordan’s Wheel of Time thing (I read a lot of it in middle school). It has a compelling plot etc… The problem is, the writing is terrible (not always, just mostly). This is the problem w/ a lot of genre fiction. Time and care are not put into the craft. Many authors of such works spin things out as quickly as possible, focusing almost solely on plot, and plot is only one, tiny part of the text.
Well said, Ed.
I want to say, before you read my response, that I respect your love of science fiction, although I may not agree with it. I am a HUGE fan of literary work, though I started my reading with science fiction and a great heap of fantasy. I believe that the person who commented above was correct in saying that a lot of science fiction writers very often just spin out stories. I am a huge fan of Douglas Adams, Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s 1984, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and a good deal of epic poetry, which I believe is the roots of modern fantasy. However, I also think that, as time went on, science fiction lost the appeal and message that it once had. The Hitchhiker’s Guide is something we read, not for its literary qualities, but for its humour; the Guide had a genius behind the writing and the plot. While I have never read a work by Ishiguro, I feel that what he and Atwood (and, perhaps, other authors, I know nothing of modern literature) are trying to do is put the message and drive back into science fiction. I think that if something is good, one should read it, regardless of genre. I do find that a lot of the best writers (or my favorite, at least) devote themselves mostly to “literary” fiction. Though, judging from my generation’s dislike of reading, I feel that great literature is dying (which includes science fiction and all other genres, basically). Who know? Perhaps science fiction will gain more respsect in literary circles in the future. I think a great deal of science fiction is undervalued, while a great deal is overvalued. I apologize for taking up so much space. Have a nice day.
-Francis