Anonymous #3 43w

I always called it realistic fiction growing up but idk what happened to that term

6

Anonymous #3 43w

maybe, except i’ve read many fantasy books that do that exact thing

-1

Anonymous OP 43w

how is it fantasy if it’s something that could happen in real life?

3

Anonymous #3 43w

so many fantasy books deal with human nature and the things that real people go through. most of them do it better than all the lit fic i’ve read

1

Anonymous OP 43w

Im not saying they don’t, I’m just saying they use fantastic elements in their exploration, as a way to enhance their dive into the human condition or approach it from a different angle or just spice it up. Lit fic, by definition, does not have fantastic elements or fictional science or any other genre convention that bends and distorts reality. At least that’s how I see it. Lit fic is more straightforward

3

Anonymous #3 43w

that’s true, but calling it “literary fiction” is so pretentious. “general fiction” would be a much better term

3

Anonymous OP 43w

I just don’t see how it’s pretentious though. It’s using literary device over genre convention to build its story

2

Anonymous #3 43w

I mean maybe it’s the neurodivergent in me not seeing subtext lol

2

Anonymous #3 43w

but what do you mean “literary device”? does fantasy not also use literary devices?

2

Anonymous OP 43w

yes but it’s set apart with its use of genre convention. idk maybe I’m not making sense lol I could be totally wrong

2

Anonymous #3 43w

yeah i mean lit fic is contemporary, if that’s what you mean. but why not call the genre Contemporary Fiction?

1

Anonymous OP 43w

I wouldn’t say it’s always contemporary? I’d consider Bleak House literary. Little Women? One could make the argument for Oliver Twist. Notes from Underground in a way. Perhaps Crime and Punishment. Anna Karenina?

1

Anonymous #4 43w

false on all accounts?? also you’d say Frankenstein is lit fic instead of horror/sci fi? You’d say Austen is lit fic instead of romance? Three Musketeers and Don Quixote is lit fic instead of adventure? Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are lit fic instead of gothic? What about Verne? Melville? Poe? Lovecraft? Wells? Vonnegut? you can’t say none of those aren’t written well and none of them were written for something more than escapism, or that none of them clearly fall into genre fiction

4

Anonymous #4 43w

lit fic authors certainly do try to emulate classics, but to say that all classics come from that genre is misleading. genre fiction wasn’t really established until the 20th century, so of course most classics are “lit fic”… but even that’s not true because there are so many classics that are mythological and fantastical in nature.

2

Anonymous #4 43w

and it’s SO pretentious to say that genre fiction is “pure escapism” and therefore “nowhere near as skilled or introspective.” most fantasy books i’ve read are 10x as introspective as the lit fic authors who try to emulate the classics.

2

Anonymous #3 43w

so then “general fiction” would be a better term, really anything but “literary”

2

Anonymous OP 43w

why? I mean if you’re saying “literary” somehow unfairly elevates the genre, doesn’t “general” unfairly demote it? like “oh this is the misc fiction that nobody wants to read”?

1

Anonymous #3 43w

i don’t think so? at least that’s not what my association with the word “ general” is. i associate it with just “miscellaneous”, which is essentially what it is

2

Anonymous OP 43w

yeah I guess I see miscellaneous as like “other” kind of disregarded though I’ve also been thinking and going through my goodreads shelves and, idk if this is just a me thing, but I don’t consider every genreless fiction book lit fic. I’m not sure exactly what distinguishes it but to me I’d say there’s a difference between lit fic and fiction no label

1