Because everyone loves someone, and anyone who loves someone has had those desperate nights where we lie awake trying to figure our how we can afford to carry on being human beings. Sometimes that makes us do things that seem ridiculous in hindsight, but which felt like the only way out at the time.
He’s not someone who feels comfortable confiding in others, or demanding things from them. He needs Marianne for this reason. This fact strikes him newly. Marianne is someone he can ask things of. Even though there are certain difficulties and resentments in their relationship, the relationship carries on. This seems remarkable to him now, and almost moving.
Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so beautifully written I procrastinate on writing the review to the point of guilt just to eschew not doing the book justice. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is such a book.
It sat on my stacks for weeks because I didn’t know if the story of an orphan Irish boy would sustain me for so many pages. But boy, oh Irish boy, was I wrong. This book is everything a literary novel should be: sweeping in scope, intelligent, nuanced, darkly comedic - filled with pathos and estrangement, humor and humanity.
The tale follows Cyril Avery from utero, and proceeds generationally throughout his life. Born in a conservative Ireland to an unwed young mother who is literally thrown out of her church, the piece threads expertly through Cyril’s entire life: his unlikely adoption into a home where he is treated more like a middle-aged boarder than a child, chance encounters with his birth mother and a series of life-defining - and threatening - struggles along the way, struggles - and threats - that seem embedded in the fight for Ireland herself to survive.
Moving, generous and finely-crafted, this book made me laugh out loud and audibly sigh. A multifaceted portrait of a desperately evolving man against the never-changing landscape of his intransigent origin country.
*Thank you to the publishers for providing B3 with an ARC.
Have you had a chronic illness? Indeterminate symptoms that ebb and flow confounding doctors and holistic practitioners alike? Ever prostrate yourself on the floor of an abandoned warehouse to experience Reiki as explained by a recently ordained eight-year old?
No?
Just me?
Junia - or er, Mary, is ill. She lumbers through NY, more a compilation of symptoms than a person, and possibly not even sure she is one anymore. After countless attempts at remedy which leave her sanity and bank account eviscerated, she is referred to a PAKing Practitioner - PAKing being a unique combination of Touch/ Energy/ Zero Balancing/ Reiki / Meditation Treatment which miraculously assuages her discomfort. And, as with most magical alternative cures, it is prohibitively expensive.
In order to scrounge up enough cash to get by, Mary answers a mysterious Craigslist Ad to be a high paid - well, she is not sure what exactly, - but through a series of rigorous interviews, she becomes part of a well-compensated experiment: a “Girlfriend Experiment” for the megalomaniac tortured star of the era, who is convinced that romantic relationships are thwarting his creativity. So, he creates an experiment breaking down the facets of Girlfrienddom and a team of experts casts a woman in each role, my favorite of which is “Mundanity Girlfriend,” whose directives include sharing the space with the star but not exactly acknowledging him: “stare absently out a window in a daze for up to three minutes at a time,” “look in his direction, but not in his eyes…smile, slightly, as if you are thinking about something else.” There is of course “Intimacy Girlfriend,” “Anger Girlfriend,” “Maternal Girlfriend,” and as Mary discovers, “Emotional Girlfriend.”
If the quirky absurdity of the premise doesn’t reel you in, the writing will. Lacey’s prose reads like poetry: utterly human, intimately clandestine and pathetically humorous. The content harkens to Dave Egger’s The Circle and Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, and the insightful narrator calls to mind Alexandra Kleeman’s You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine and Miranda July’s The First Bad Man.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit I was slightly disappointed at the end of the novel. But whether I just didn’t want it to end or I was searching for answers that it wouldn’t give me, I’m not entirely sure. I highlighted dozens of passages in the book and just this moment sent them to a friend to appreciate. The writing is so deep that it seems to resonate at a cellular level. And I wonder if that’s all we all are - an assemblage of random molecules in space, unsure systems negotiating a precarious balance, a collection of cells, congregating in the curvature of a large question mark rather than a definitive period.
*I received a galley via NetGalley for an honest review.
Books to Get Out of the UK and Ireland: May Edition
Books to Get Out of the UK and Ireland: May Edition
Are you looking for your next great read? Why not try out the books from across the pond? Despite from what governments say, books are essential and are needed now, more than ever. So if you are need of a variety and want to read diverse stories, then I suggest you try out some British and Irish titles!
Marianne had the sense that her real life was happening somewhere very far away, happening without her, and she didn’t know if she would ever find out where it was or become part of it.
Summary from Goodreads: At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when…
“It is surprisingly easy to forget what you have witnessed, the horrifying image or the voice speaking the unspeakable, in order to exist in the world we must and we do forget, we live in a state of I know but I do not know.”
This weekend, scare up big savings when we take 40% off EVERYTHING at the IP Web Store!
Ebooks, all in-stock print books, merchandise and even pre-orders will all be on sale, so stock up for yourself or beat the supply chain blues by ordering your holiday gifts now!
before we get started i would just like to mention that it is my life goal to be chloe gong when i grow up. thank you. /hj /lh
hey y'all! today we are talking about some books that paved the way for female authors and were the face of the feminist movement at different points through history. i haven’t read all of these, but i’ve read extracts of many and i have LOVED them. this is also by no means a complete guide to feminist literature, more like a compilation of books i’ve heard of or that inspired me!
1.A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
this book was written in 1792, before the term ‘feminist’ even existed. she argues against the idea that women shouldn’t be given education, and says that women are essential to society as companions to their husbands and as the people who raise their children. she says that treating women as ornaments or property goes against the moral backbone of society.
2.A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
published in 1929, this book challenges the idea that women are lesser writers because of their gender. woolf sheds light on the years of systemic oppression that have denied women of their opportunities and therefore stifled their voices.
3.The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman
this book is often credited with sparking the second-wave feminism in the US. published in 1963, it talks about how being feminine was equated to being fulfilled by only marriage, children, sexual activity, and housework. she intended to raise the voices of women across the country and promote female education.
4.This Bridge Called My Back (anthology edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa
this book talks about what, today, is considered intersectional feminism from the lens of race. it is an anthology of pieces written by women of colour that challenges 'white feminism’, a movement that primarily involved educated, upper-middle class white women.
“with its collective ethos, its politics of rage and regeneration, and its mix of poetry, critique, fiction and testimony, it challenged the boundaries of feminist and academic discourse.”
5.Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay
'Bad Feminist’, published in 2014, talks about the idea of a 'perfect feminist’ and how the feminist movement has created a singular idea of what a progressive woman is. she challenges this idea. she also talks about how pop culture reinforces certain stereotypes about both women and feminists that need to be broken.
6.The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
with sections dedicated to sexual consent, body image, sex work, reproduction, and more, ensler’s work was designed to give a voice to women of many races, identities, and experiences. 'the vagina monologues’ is a play with monologues by different women of different backgrounds and experiences, and has become an important part of the feminist movement.
7.The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
author and philosopher de Beauvoir’s 1949 book began as an autobiographical essay exploring why she thought of herself as a woman first and everything else second. It reclaimed “the problem of woman,” which, as she put it, “has always been the problem of men.”
Differences Between Genre Fiction and Literary Fiction
following my post on tips for writing literary fiction, here’s a quick outline of the differences between genre fiction and literary fiction // @writingzawn on instagram
Most literary critics divide fiction into two categories: genre fiction and literary fiction. Literary fiction is sometimes called ‘serious’ fiction and is seen by some people as more 'high-brow’ and superior to commercial fiction. But this isn’t the case. It’s simply different, with a different purpose and a different role within literature as a whole. Both are worth reading and writing, and are valid forms of art and expression. Also, many books bridge the gap and could be seen to fall into both categories - The Song of Achilles is often considered an example of this kind.
1. Content
a) Characteristics
Genre novels tend to adhere to commonly used formulas for plot and character arcs; make use of the literal with fewer hidden meanings/symbols/allegories and - if there is symbolism - it’s typically easily understood; make use of tropes and clichés; and tend to fit specific genres such as horror, thriller or fantasy. In contrast, literary fiction tends to be character-focused; follow non-conventional plot structures; contain embedded symbolism/allegory; have more of an emphasis on the exploration of larger philosophical themes regarding the human condition; and have a more poetic writing style.
b) Emphasis
Essentially, it’s a difference of emphasis: where genre fiction novels focus on the thrill of the plot, literary fiction novels emphasise the internal lives of the characters and transcend the plotline to explore more abstract ideas. Literary fans enjoy those 'slower bits’ in between scenes when what makes the characters tick can be explored. I think the difference can be summed up as this: genre fiction is generally read for escapism, fun, tension, to experience life from someone else’s perspective, whereas literary fiction is read with the aims of learning something from the book about the human condition and the world at large.
c) Audience
Literary novels generally sell in fewer quantities than genre or mainstream novels - so publishers are less likely to take a gamble on them.
2. They look different
a) Covers
Once published, the differences continue. Genre novels tend to have more eye-catching covers - castles, dragons and princesses on the fantasy books, dripping blood on the horror novels - whereas the covers of literary novels tend to be subtler, more 'arty’. They sometimes have stickers on the cover saying that the book was short-listed for the Booker Prize or something similar.
b) Formats
They also come in different formats. Genre fiction usually comes in the mass-market paperback format (you need to be well-known to get published in the hardback first). Literary fiction typically appears in the hardback first or as a 'trade paperback’ which is the same size as a hardcover book but with a soft cover (and then in standard paperback one year later). Of course, this isn’t always the case and indie authors are free to choose whichever format they prefer.
c) Titles
Commercial fiction novels often have more direct titles that encapsulate what the novel is concretely about. For example, The Hunger Games is about exactly as it says: The Hunger Games. In contrast, literary novels are usually more 'offbeat’, less clear in what they’re about, and often used to subtly clarify the central idea the book goes on to explore eg White Teeth by Zadie Smith or Instances of the Number 3 by Salley Vickers.
d) Where they’re found
Genre fiction novels each have an area of shelfing inside bookstores all to itself (one area for sci-fi, one area for thrillers). On the other hand, literary fiction appears in the 'General A-Z’ section, alongside more mainstream books.
Conclusion
Literary fiction and genre fiction are the two categories books are divided into by academics, publishers and critics. Literary fiction is studied in universities and receives careful criticism in journals, whereas genre fiction is more 'mainstream’ and sells in greater numbers. Both are valid and worthwhile - the main difference lies in the areas they emphasise. Literary novels are usually slower-paced, with deeper meanings, and a focus on the characters and how the plot affects them internally, whereas commercial fiction contains fewer symbols/allegories, is more direct, and has a greater focus on drama created by plot. Genre fiction still contains themes, but these are generally added to a plot sculpted for drama, whereas the plot of literary fiction is usually created mainly to communicate the central idea.
Literary fiction ‘tends to follow non-conventional plot structures while containing embedded symbolism and allegory’. These are the books that are studied in English departments at universities and are nominated for the Booker prize. It’s important to note that a book can be both a part of another genre and considered literary fiction. For example, Snow Falling on Cedars is both a thriller and a literary novel.
Some Examples of Literary Fiction
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Characteristics of Literary Fiction
Character-driven stories
Lack of adherence to a fixed plot formula
Exploration of larger philosophical themes, especially in relation to the human condition and the will of nature
Ambiguous plot points, including the ending
Ample symbolism, metaphor and allegory
Ambitious vocabulary infused with imagery
Now onto the tips…
It still requires plot
A common mistake writers make when trying to write literary fiction is to write a story with no plot. But literary fiction requires a plot just as much as a genre novel. The only difference is that the plot in literary fiction should be more subtle and character-based, with fewer archetypes and clichés. It can move at a slower pace, dwelling in the mind of the protagonist and their emotions. In this case the events of the plot itself are internal, but caused by parallel external events. The climax might be an emotional peak (be that desperation, sadness, fury etc), rather than an actual event.
The characters must be deep
Genre fiction stories focus far more on the thrill of action, whereas literary fiction draws much of its strength from deep characterisation. The protagonist and the other characters (even side characters) must be realistic, deep and complex. In literary fiction, there is no concept of 'good’ or 'bad’, just as in real life. Most characters would be considered morally grey, with all the complexity of people in real life. Give them quirks and liveliness.
The exploration of themes and ideas is most important
The aim of a literary fiction novel is for readers to finish it having learnt something new about the human condition and what it means to be human. The plot should revolve around a specific idea or theme, exploring it deeply from many angles. Show how it affects the protagonist, the other characters, and the world at large. Be subtle, allow room for readers to search for your true meaning and to reach their own conclusions, and carve a plot that serves best to help readers reflect on this theme.
Don’t preach
Allow your readers to decide things for themselves. A literary fiction book shouldn’t read like a textbook or a parable: trust in your readers to discover their own answer to the questions you pose throughout the story. Even if you know what youranswer is (and hint at this in the book) still allow your readers to search for this for themselves, and don’t overload them with your own opinion.
To avoid preaching, ensure each of your characters speaks differently, has their own outlook and that their opinion fits with who they are as a person. Your characters shouldn’t just spout your opinion: present lots of different angles on the central theme and have it fit with the characters and their backstories. With that said, don’t be afraid to present your final opinion through subtle hinting.
Use elegant language
Whilst still avoiding purple prose, aim for an elegant writing style. Make use of both long and short sentences and ensure your description is vivid and evocative. Your characters should speak in a way that’s engaging, yet deep and profound. If you’re marketing your book as literary fiction, you must deliver with a masterful, skilful use of language, adapting it to the tone and mood required in each scene. You may also notice that the average sentence tends to be longer in literary novels but - with that said - don’t give in to excessiveness. The aim isn’t to show how many long words you can use and how high-brow you can seem. It’s to create an impression of meaning, without losing the air of subtlety. Don’t sacrifice clarity for lyricism.
Know common literary novel structures
We’ve established that these books still need a plot, albeit a character-based one. You have a freedom to choose your own structure: the character-based plot and the slow pacing allows you to construct it any way you like. Perhaps you 'construct your novel in a rose pattern, where each part of your novel unfolds a new revelation for the characters and for the readers, breaking all other structures’. In addition to this, there are two common types of structure used in literary fiction: the coming of age and the picaresque.
In coming of age, we follow the protagonist through their life, from childhood to adulthood, watching as they engage with philosophical ideas. Some examples of this type would be The Catcher in the Rye orPurple Hibiscus.
A picaresque novel, however, features one protagonist while all the other characters appear in an episodic fashion. The mosaic-like novel is usual comical and satirical, featuring characters of a lower standing.
Read literary fiction books
To discover your own style and voice in this genre, the best thing you can do is read literary fiction - not just classics in the genre, but newer literary novels, too. Analyse which writers’ styles you like: do you like when they write with dry humour, when it’s clear and serious, when it’s more lyrical and poetic? Then experiment with your own style!
Aim for transcendency
Your story should be bigger than the plot, about ideas rather than action. Take your time to explore your characters’ motivations and relationships: literary novels are slower-paced, so you have time to do that.
Lilia’s mother had married the wrong man. It was like boarding a train that never takes you in the right direction, let alone to the destination you have in mind. The farther it travels, the less point there is in going on, and the lesser in getting off. What was unforgivable, though, was that she was the kind of woman for whom any husband would be the wrong husband. Why marry, then?
Most men are undertakers of their women’s dreams. And, of course, most women are undertakers of their men’s dreams, too. But for Lilia’s father, there was the extra obsession that he kept exhuming what he had buried. He was never violent, and he did not drink excessively. A man with little capacity for joy or vice, he derived his only pleasure from tormenting his wife with a tale in which he did not have a place. And she did that to him, too.
The world might not love the boy. The world might never be in love with him. But that was okay, because there was a secret, which nobody but Lilia could reveal to him: Let me tell you something that most people don’t know. They’ll expect you to always remember the sweetness of being your mother’s child or the bitterness of losing her. They’ll bring you replacements, thinking they’re doing you a favor. But trust me. The days after love are long and empty. It’s up to you and me to make them less so. Those others, they are of no use to us.
When you’re closer to death, you’re expected to see less, hear less, and care less. Care less until you become careless, and that’s when they pack you off to the next building. The Memory Care Unit: as though your memories, like children or dogs, were only temporarily at the mercy of the uncaring others, waiting for you to reclaim them at the end of the day. You have to be careful not to slip into the careless. The care-full live, the care-less die, and when you are dead you are carefree.
