-
The Literary Novel
Does anyone know what a literary novel is? I have no pretensions of ever writing one but I can’t seem to see what it is, there is such disagreement. I remember Terry Pratchett saying when he was awarded a Literary Prize that they probably gave it to him for not writing any…
-
4 Replies
-
A literary novel is one without any car chases, gunfights, bank robberies or decent limb shattering explosions.
Nothing much happens except the characters worry about their feelings and relationships.
A good literary novel will always be set in a century long ago. If not, then at least in a place far away.
In terms of description when it is simply a hot day you will read stuff like ‘the sun was a red fiery orb, akin to a veritable cricket ball drenched in tomato ketchup rotating in a microwave.’
Everything is metaphorical, allegorical and littered with pretentious references to little known 17th century Russian poets.
The author will have a name like Tristam Hyphen-Hyphen-Smythe. Never Grisham or Archer.
Literary novels are always published in hardback, preferably with covers made out of concrete. If it is a rare literary novel you must refer to the covers as the ‘boards’ and use terms such as ‘light foxing’.
They don’t sell very well, even in charity shops.
If you are in a book group you will read plenty of literary novels, usually recommended by the person in the group you hate the most. In discussing them at meetings you must use words like ‘subtext’, ‘foreshadowing’ and maybe even ‘postmodern’. You must also eat a lot of cheese.
Finally, if the book wins a literary prize then you can be pretty certain it is a literary novel.
-
Great job Iain. I think you pretty much nailed it.😀😀😀
-
Perhaps we should write a literary novel. It could go round chapter by chapter, like the game of consequences and then we can try to get it published. Who knows – we might win the Booker Prize between us.
-
Literary novels are a tricky beast as it is an elusive category.
A book with an evocative and lyrical prose can be literary but there are also plenty of literary novels with sparse and simple prose, for example Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
Literary novel are more character-driven than plot-driven, however this doesn’t mean there isn’t a plot.
They also tend to look at big themes or reflect on specific society issues, and tend to have a strong and/or distinctive voice.
Some literary novels are experimental in style, for example Eimear McBride, but that’s a pre-requisite.
I hope this helps.
