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Review of Rachel Cusk’s Outline

July 21, 2019

Book Review, Criticism

book, fiction, Greece, literary fiction, literature, Rachel Cusk, review

2 comments

This post features another book review, and yet it’s so much more than a review. Writing this review of Rachel Cusk’s Outline is a fantastic opportunity for me to talk about literary fiction. What it should be and what it doesn’t care about.

Often on this blog I talk about over-explaining in fiction, or about realistic characters versus insignificant plots. Rachel Cusk’s Outline is one of the best examples of what high-quality (literary) fiction ought to be.

Review of Rachel Cusk's Outline
Rachel Cusk’s Outline is set in Athens, but not in the way you might expect

Outline is not perfect (we’ll talk about its flaws in a while), but as an example it’s near-flawless. In other words, it’s great teaching material.

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What Is Literary Fiction: not what You Think It Is

July 11, 2019

Literature

literary fiction, literature, reading, reality, symbolism, writing

4 comments

What is literary fiction? Well, I could offer you a definition – and I will, in a while. But let’s get this out of the way. Literary fiction is probably not what you think it is.

Literary fiction is not a “genre”. Indeed, it is the very opposite of “genre” fiction (we will discuss this, too).

Moreover, literary fiction is not “high-quality” fiction. It can be, of course, but there is mediocre literary fiction, as there is stunningly brilliant genre fiction.

What is literary fiction
What is literary fiction? It’s not about what you say but how you say it

And so, if someone asks you what is literary fiction, how should you reply? Allow me to throw the A-bomb and then we’ll take a closer look: Literary fiction is an aesthetic framework for approaching the human condition.

If you feel confused, worry not. I’ll unpack it for you right away.

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Illiterary Fiction (New Literary Fiction Novel)

January 3, 2019

Fiction

book, fiction, literary fiction, novel

0 comments

Imagine a world where people snub literature and knowledge. Those who read are “readers”, a derogatory term barely superior to being a burger-flipper. It’s a world just like our own. When you think of it, it is our own. Welcome to Illiterary Fiction, my latest literary-fiction novel.

As with most of interesting ideas, this too began with a what-if question. Seeing the impossible mediocrity that surrounds us, the disappearance of basic reading and writing skills, I had a what-if moment.

What if people stopped reading altogether? What if there existed professional readers, whose job would be to read and summarize for those who wouldn’t read anything longer than a tweet?

Illiterary Fiction
The world of Illiterary Fiction is not a pleasant one. It becomes even less so once you realize it doesn’t differ at all from our world.
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