BETWEEN THE LINES

Book Talk by Joe Neri

Pomp, Popular and Pulp (Fiction, That Is!)

“I only read serious fiction,” is a statement I occasionally hear from readers.

What exactly is serious fiction? And, does that statement imply that there is a pecking order in the world of fiction? Is literary (aka “serious”) fiction, by definition, better than popular fiction? And is popular fiction better than genre (mystery, science fiction, romance, etc) fiction?

I personally don’t think so. All I care about, as a reader, is good fiction, regardless of form and genre. To impose an artificial hierarchy on books based on the subjective “serious” criterion would mean that Bel Canto by Ann Patchett is better than My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which is better than Neon Rain by James Lee Burke, or Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, or Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate by Kyra Davis.

The last thing in the world I want to do is tell you what to read or impose my own literary tastes on you. One of the joys of reading is that it is completely subjective. You can like and dislike whatever you please, and you don’t have to have a reason for either.

But sometimes we do limit our choices by preconceptions and stereotypes of what a “good book” is or should be. There are times when what we need is not a book that makes us think and challenges us down to our core values, but rather a book that allows us to escape into a world that is totally different from our own, that we can enter and leave on a whim, and that simply entertains us.

Interestingly, in the world of book publishing, we are seeing more bending and blending of the various forms of fiction. Literary fiction is beginning to contain more plotting and suspense; popular fiction is containing more mystery and crime; and, genre fiction is delving deeper into psychological and character elements. Recently, for example, popular fiction writer Lisa See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) published a mystery novel (Flower Net).

So what is a “good book?” I don’t know. That’s a question best left to monthly book club and reading group discussions. All I can tell you is you’ll know one when you read it.

And if you throw away the labels of literary, popular and genre fiction, you just might be surprised what you might find.