This was fascinating. Thank you. I love your idea of a reading/discussion/making group - do try to set one up, I'd love to hear how it goes!
I'm also interested in that sense of writing a novel that is 'inclusive' in that those who aren't 'readers' may be engaged. The Barbara Comyns novel I talked about in my Saturday post is rather like this. Not in the contrived voice of a child, but in an 'uneducated' voice, if I can put it that way.
Thank you! Yes, the idea of doing things while engaging with literature, music etc is appealing, isn't it?! I think that Comyn was doing something a bit different, but I've never really read her, only about her. (Really enjoyed your writing about her!)
Maria , I really enjoyed this exploration of the audience for novels (and wish I could read the trilogy in Swedish). Novels are my very favorite kind of writing, partly because the good ones have the space to pull you into the setting and lives of their characters - it’s why I like big fat social novels as well as mysteries. It’s also why I’m not always captivated by literary novels that are too conceptual. Some of what you’re noting relates to the appeal of Tolstoy, with his combo of fictional characters and discussions of history, which expand the form of the novel. I’ve always thought novels written for general audiences share characteristics with journalistic nonfiction features, in which writers need to think hard about what a reader needs to know to make sense of a story - and how to engage readers who aren’t really readers.
Thank you! And yes, wish that the novels were available in English! Will think about this idea of fiction as similar to journalistic non-fiction, and readers for whom novels are not a major part of everyday life. More coming on writing, I think, inspired in part by your question over on your newsletter.
This was fascinating. Thank you. I love your idea of a reading/discussion/making group - do try to set one up, I'd love to hear how it goes!
I'm also interested in that sense of writing a novel that is 'inclusive' in that those who aren't 'readers' may be engaged. The Barbara Comyns novel I talked about in my Saturday post is rather like this. Not in the contrived voice of a child, but in an 'uneducated' voice, if I can put it that way.
Thank you! Yes, the idea of doing things while engaging with literature, music etc is appealing, isn't it?! I think that Comyn was doing something a bit different, but I've never really read her, only about her. (Really enjoyed your writing about her!)
Maria , I really enjoyed this exploration of the audience for novels (and wish I could read the trilogy in Swedish). Novels are my very favorite kind of writing, partly because the good ones have the space to pull you into the setting and lives of their characters - it’s why I like big fat social novels as well as mysteries. It’s also why I’m not always captivated by literary novels that are too conceptual. Some of what you’re noting relates to the appeal of Tolstoy, with his combo of fictional characters and discussions of history, which expand the form of the novel. I’ve always thought novels written for general audiences share characteristics with journalistic nonfiction features, in which writers need to think hard about what a reader needs to know to make sense of a story - and how to engage readers who aren’t really readers.
Thank you! And yes, wish that the novels were available in English! Will think about this idea of fiction as similar to journalistic non-fiction, and readers for whom novels are not a major part of everyday life. More coming on writing, I think, inspired in part by your question over on your newsletter.