History Main / LitFic

Some established genres are remarkably prone to getting OutOfTheGhetto. This is especially true of the heavier kind of SpyLiterature, since its subject matter naturally raises questions about morality, politics, power, loyalty, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}} and Creator/JohnLeCarre are perhaps the two best examples of this[[/note]]. ScienceFiction also can become "respectable" if a work explores its era's social and philosophical problems[[note]]Such as "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. Interestingly, "literary" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon until [[VindicatedByHistory long after their publication]] ... at which point they stop being considered sci-fi[[note]]''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', and ''{{Frankenstein}}'' all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

* ''[[Literature/MidnightsChildren Midnight's Children]]''

* ''[[Literature/MrsDalloway Mrs. Dalloway]]''

* ''Literature/TheCollector''

* ''Literature/{{The Crimson Petal And The White}}''

* ''Literature/BreakfastAtTiffanys''

Lit Fic (short for “Literary Fiction”) is a nebulous, broad term which emerged during the 1960s. Though it is usually contrasted with Genre Fiction (“SpeculativeFiction”, MysteryFiction, RomanceNovel, and so on), there’s more to it than “any non-genre fiction”; in some respects, it is a genre unto itself, characterized by an aspiration to literary merit and a greater focus on style, theme and psychological depth—as opposed to the focus on plot and narrative typical of genre fiction.

From this you might infer that this is typically not the kind of work that provides one’s daily fix of [[JustForFun/AvatarAndTheAirbendingFellowshipOfVampireSlayers vampire-hunting, magically-transforming, banana-bending, mecha-piloting, super-powered, time-travelling teenagers beating the odds]]. A touch of MagicalRealism might be allowed, but never to the point where it becomes the focus of the story. Rather, a piece of Lit Fic is much likelier to be about everyday people doing everyday things, dealing with everyday problems and eventually coming to realizations or personal transformations. A family struggles with cancer. A man struggles with death. A couple struggles with alcoholism. A child struggles to become an adult. Literary fiction is therefore sometimes criticized as [[TrueArtIsBoring "100,000 words in which nothing happens"]]. Contrariwise, literary fiction writers dismiss genre works as [[SciFiGhetto childish wish fulfillment]]. Interestingly, this gives it much overlap with what is called SliceOfLife fiction, which is similarly about people going on with their daily lives (although SliceOfLife is in a very general sense perceived to be more lighthearted).

There is very little {{escapism}} or WishFulfillment in Lit Fic. For some readers, this induces an instinctive aversion to the genre; they deem it pretentious and boring, an over-application of “write what you know” that is mainly capable of generating [[MostWritersAreWriters tales of middle-aged English professors contemplating adultery]]. For other readers, the contrast between the realism and the conventions of genre fiction is refreshing and makes stories more relatable. Lit Fic, more than any other genre, invests itself in real-life situations and real-life people. This is, generally, a good investment; in the end, even in the wackiest and most speculative adventures, the touch of real life—characters and their believable faults and struggles—is what ties everything together, carries the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and keeps the EightDeadlyWords at bay.

Ostensibly for this reason, and because lit fic is most likely to appeal to sensibilities of the the gatekeepers of "good" fiction, Lit fic has a reputation as the “mainstream” of fiction. It does not have the greatest market share and is overall not the most popular, but it aims at the center of mass of what storytelling is about, and as a result if a work of fiction is called a “classic”, most of the time it’s a piece of Lit Fic. It’s worth noting that the genre really only began to appear towards the end of the 19th century, when the corresponding genre fictions began to crystallize. (One could argue that most works of fiction before the emergence of genre fic are essentially lit fic, but the term is generally used to refer to contemporary works.)

Much like other things in life, the division between literary fiction and genre fiction is not a total binary dichotomy. The typical struggles of people just trying to find their place in the world comprise ''one'' aspect of storytelling; the speculation on what the world would be like if only it were slightly more fantastic is ''another'' aspect of storytelling. Various works will emphasize these two aspects to varying degrees, and as a result, sometimes the line between the two genres becomes blurred. To top it off, it is worth keeping in mind that works from both genres will often defy expectation and act wildly out of the stereotype expected of them. Some works dealing with “ordinary situations and ordinary people” will make you cry with laughter. Some works dealing with spaceship politics on the planet Xyrrzquilon VI will introduce situations that hit close to home and will make you pause and really think about your own life and where it is going.

* ''Literature/RabbitAtRest''

There is very little {{escapism}} or WishFulfillment in Lit Fic. For some readers, this induces an instinctive aversion to the genre; they deem it [[TrueArtIsBoring pretentious and boring]], an over-application of “write what you know” that is mainly capable of generating [[MostWritersAreWriters tales of middle-aged English professors contemplating adultery]]. For other readers, the contrast between the realism and the conventions of genre fiction is refreshing and makes stories more relatable. Lit Fic, more than any other genre, invests itself in real-life situations and real-life people. This is, generally, a good investment; in the end, even in the wackiest and most speculative adventures, the touch of real life—characters and their believable faults and struggles—is what ties everything together, carries the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and keeps the EightDeadlyWords at bay.

From this you might infer that this is typically not the kind of work that provides one’s daily fix of [[JustForFun/AvatarAndTheAirbendingFellowshipOfVampireSlayers vampire-hunting, magically-transforming, banana-bending, mecha-piloting, super-powered, time-travelling teenagers beating the odds]]. A touch of MagicalRealism might be allowed, but never to the point where it becomes the focus of the story. Rather, a piece of Lit Fic is much likelier to be about everyday people doing everyday things, dealing with everyday problems and eventually coming to realizations or personal transformations. A family struggles with cancer. A man struggles with death. A couple struggles with alcoholism. A child struggles to become an adult. Literary fiction is therefore sometimes criticized as "100,000 words in which nothing happens". Contrariwise, literary fiction writers dismiss genre works as [[SciFiGhetto childish wish fulfillment]]. Interestingly, this gives it much overlap with what is called SliceOfLife fiction, which is similarly about people going on with their daily lives (although SliceOfLife is in a very general sense perceived to be more lighthearted).

There is very little {{escapism}} or WishFulfillment in Lit Fic. For some readers, this induces an instinctive aversion to the genre; they deem it pretentious and boring, an over-application of “write what you know” that is mainly capable of generating [[MostWritersAreWriters tales of middle-aged English professors contemplating adultery]]. For other readers, the contrast between the realism and the conventions of genre fiction is refreshing and makes stories more relatable. Lit Fic, more than any other genre, invests itself in real-life situations and real-life people. This is, generally, a good investment; in the end, even in the wackiest and most speculative adventures, the touch of real life—characters and their believable faults and struggles—is what ties everything together, carries the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and keeps the EightDeadlyWords at bay.

* ''[[Literature/SmallWorldDavidLodgeNovel Small World]]''
* ''Literature/{{Snow}}''

Some established genres are remarkably prone to getting OutOfTheGhetto. This is especially true of the heavier kind of SpyLiterature, since its subject matter naturally raises questions about morality, politics, power, loyalty, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}} and Creator/JohnLeCarre are perhaps the two best examples of this[[/note]]. ScienceFiction also can become "respectable" if a work explores its era's social and philosophical problems[[note]]Such as "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. Interestingly, "literary" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon until [[VindicatedByHistory long after their publication]] ... at which point they stop being considered sci-fi[[note]]''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', and ''Literature/Frankenstein'' all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

Some established genres are remarkably prone to getting OutOfTheGhetto. This is especially true of the heavier kind of SpyLiterature, since its subject matter naturally raises questions about morality, politics, power, loyalty, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}} and Creator/JohnLeCarre are perhaps the two best examples of this[[/note]]. ScienceFiction also can become "respectable" if a work explores its era's social and philosophical problems[[note]]Such as "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. An interesting phenomenon is that "literary" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon [[VindicatedByHistory until long after their publication]] ... at which point these works often stop being ''considered'' sci-fi[[note]]''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', and ''Literature/Frankenstein'' all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

Other genres have a much harder time getting literary status. Even though Creator/JRRTolkien's reputation has grown over the years, FantasyLiterature remains squarely in the "genre" aisle. As for a RomanceNovel, ThrillerLiterature, or ChickLit? Forget it.

Getting out of the ghetto is also easier in genres that are strongly associated with an eminent author whom critics respect, thanks to that author's halo effect. Look no further than SeaStories, which enjoy respectability-by-association with [[''Literature/MobyDick'' a certain book about whales]]. DetectiveFiction also has a certain respectability, thanks to the legacies of Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/AgathaChristie, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.

In some established genres, works get OutOfTheGhetto quite often. The heavier sort of SpyFiction is especially prone to this, since its matter naturally raises questions about morality, power, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}}, Creator/JohnLeCarre, and Creator/JosephConrad are major examples of this[[/note]]. DetectiveFiction also enjoys a certain "literary respectability," thanks in part to the legacies of figures like Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/AgathaChristie, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. ScienceFiction sometimes gets literary cred, especially if a work explores its era's cultural and philosophical quandaries[[note]]Such as qualms about "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. An interesting phenomenon is that "respectable" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon [[VindicatedByHistory until long after their publication]] ... at which point readers may well have forgotten that these works even ''were'' once considered sci-fi[[note]]''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', and ''{{Frankenstein}}'' all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

In general, SpeculativeFiction novels that get OutOfTheGhetto tend to be [[TrueArtIsAngsty darker than other works in their genres]]. Moments of action are few and far between, and endings are [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] at best. It also helps if a work is [[TrueArtIsAncient old]]. After all, the concept of lit-fic didn't exist until the 1960s, so many older "speculative" authors whose reputations were already solid got grandfathered into the literary canon[[note]]Creator/JosephConrad, Creator/MaryShelley, Creator/JulesVerne, Creator/RobertLouisStevenson, Creator/HGWells, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe are a few prominent cases[[/note]]. Publishers often use the term "upmarket fiction" to describe works that combine aspects of literary fiction and genre fiction.

In some established genres, works get OutOfTheGhetto quite often. The heavier sort of SpyFiction is especially prone to this, since its matter naturally raises questions about morality, power, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}}, Creator/JohnLeCarre, and Creator/JosephConrad are major examples of this[[/note]]. DetectiveFiction also enjoys a certain "literary respectability," thanks in part to the legacies of figures like Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/AgathaChristie, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. ScienceFiction sometimes gets literary cred, especially if a work explores its era's cultural and philosophical quandaries[[note]]Such as qualms about "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. An interesting phenomenon is that "respectable" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon [[VindicatedByHistory until long after their publication]] ... at which point readers may well have forgotten that these works even ''were'' once considered sci-fi[[note]]''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'', BraveNewWorld, ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', and {{Frankenstein}} all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

In some established genres, works get OutOfTheGhetto quite often. The heavier sort of SpyFiction is especially prone to this, since its matter naturally raises questions about morality, power, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}}, Creator/JohnLeCarre, and Creator/JosephConrad are major examples of this[[/note]]. DetectiveFiction also enjoys a certain "literary respectability," thanks in part to the legacies of figures like Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/AgathaChristie, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. ScienceFiction sometimes gets literary cred, especially if a work explores its era's cultural and philosophical quandaries[[note]]Such as qualms about "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. An interesting phenomenon is that "respectable" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon [[VindicatedByHistory until long after their publication]] ... at which point readers may well have forgotten that these works even ''were'' once considered sci-fi[[note]]ACanticleForLeibowitz, BraveNewWorld, NineteenEightyFour, SlaughterhouseFive, and {{Frankenstein}} all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].

In some established genres, works get OutOfTheGhetto quite often. The heavier sort of SpyFiction is especially prone to this, since its matter naturally raises questions about morality, power, and the nuances of man's psyche[[note]]Creator/{{Graham Greene|Author}}, Creator/JohnLeCarre, and Creator/JosephConrad are major examples of this[[/note]]. DetectiveFiction also enjoys a certain "literary respectability," thanks in part to the legacies of figures like Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/AgathaChristie, and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. ScienceFiction sometimes gets literary respectability, especially if a work explores its era's cultural and philosophical quandaries[[note]]Such as qualms about "playing god" in the 19th century, totalitarianism and dystopia during the mid-20th century, nuclear weapons during the Cold War, man's place in the cosmos during the Space Race, artificial intelligence after the birth of computers, and ecological worries from the 1970s onwards[[/note]]. An interesting phenomenon is that "respectable" sci-fi novels often aren't accepted into the literary canon [[VindicatedByHistory until long after their publication]] ... at which point readers may well have forgotten that these works even ''were'' once considered sci-fi[[note]]ACanticleForLiebowitz, BraveNewWorld, NineteenEightyFour, SlaughterhouseFive, and {{Frankenstein}} all were published as sci-fi, but they aren't taught as such in schools[[/note]].