I read this post after writing some about finding your voice as a writer. Could your Shelf with No Name actually be a Favorite Voices shelf? How many of these authors would you follow into anything they write because of their singular way of writing?
It's a good point — I feel like there's some combo of voice and a particularly adventurous approach. After all, I still haven't read any more China Mieville! (I need to remedy that.)
Two of my favorite books are on your list, and I do agree -- it's the interstitial fiction that intrigues me the most. Not everything fits neatly in a box, thank goodness, or what gifts would we wrap in tissue paper, rubber bands and pillowcases?
Dang, Valerie, I've also read the same two you've read. Like you I look forward to reading the others on Adam's shelf. BTW, kudos to Adam for the two Spademan novels and The Blinds, all of which I enjoyed. Looking forward to his upcoming book.
Back to the topic:: Mieville's The Last Days of New Paris is worth a look, I think.
My no-shelf lodestar is Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World." Man, what I wouldn't give to be capable of pulling something like that off ...
You touched on the idea of some of your favorite writers stretching themselves and trying out new genres, and some of my favorite books I've ever read fit in that category. Stephen King's 11/22/63 isn't his usual horror, but somehow he gives you time travel with ticking-clock suspense, a haunting story about regrets, and a beautiful love story all at once.
Dennis Lehane's The Given Day isn't crime fiction noir, but a sweeping historical epic that feels like his attempt at the Great American Novel. Yet his noir-ish voice gives the book enough melancholy that it still feels like part of a whole with his usual work.
My favorite stories are what I like to call "kitchen sink" stories--they have a little bit of everything. When they want to be funny, they're hilarious. When they want to be suspenseful, you're on the edge of your seat, and so on. Great writers can do that, and I love when they swing for the fences.
I didn't have space to get into this here at length but I do think a lot of bona fide genre masters — especially prolific writers like King and, to a lesser extent, output-wise, Lehane — start to expand beyond their boundaries later in their careers, as their powers/expertise/curiosity grows. Conversely a lot of so-called literary writers fold genre conventions/elements/effects into their work and no one sees this as limiting, but rather as expansive.
Agreed. And I understand your main point was about writers breaking the rules of genre and creating something new. I feel like whether it's that or an author trying something new for them, the excitement comes from the same place. The thrill of discovery--an author saying, "Hey, what if...?"
Duly noted! (I had actually forgotten he was born in the USA until you mentioned it. There's a worthy sub-niche of American expat Canadian celebs of which he is one of the greatest. Also Jane Jacobs.)
I read this post after writing some about finding your voice as a writer. Could your Shelf with No Name actually be a Favorite Voices shelf? How many of these authors would you follow into anything they write because of their singular way of writing?
It's a good point — I feel like there's some combo of voice and a particularly adventurous approach. After all, I still haven't read any more China Mieville! (I need to remedy that.)
Two of my favorite books are on your list, and I do agree -- it's the interstitial fiction that intrigues me the most. Not everything fits neatly in a box, thank goodness, or what gifts would we wrap in tissue paper, rubber bands and pillowcases?
It's so exciting to discover a book like this. Out of curiousity — which two are among your favorites?
The City & The City, and the Yiddish Policemen's Union. Now I'll have to check out the rest.
FWIW, I find that many of the books published by Small Beer Press travel this interstitial space.
Dang, Valerie, I've also read the same two you've read. Like you I look forward to reading the others on Adam's shelf. BTW, kudos to Adam for the two Spademan novels and The Blinds, all of which I enjoyed. Looking forward to his upcoming book.
Back to the topic:: Mieville's The Last Days of New Paris is worth a look, I think.
My no-shelf lodestar is Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World." Man, what I wouldn't give to be capable of pulling something like that off ...
You touched on the idea of some of your favorite writers stretching themselves and trying out new genres, and some of my favorite books I've ever read fit in that category. Stephen King's 11/22/63 isn't his usual horror, but somehow he gives you time travel with ticking-clock suspense, a haunting story about regrets, and a beautiful love story all at once.
Dennis Lehane's The Given Day isn't crime fiction noir, but a sweeping historical epic that feels like his attempt at the Great American Novel. Yet his noir-ish voice gives the book enough melancholy that it still feels like part of a whole with his usual work.
My favorite stories are what I like to call "kitchen sink" stories--they have a little bit of everything. When they want to be funny, they're hilarious. When they want to be suspenseful, you're on the edge of your seat, and so on. Great writers can do that, and I love when they swing for the fences.
I didn't have space to get into this here at length but I do think a lot of bona fide genre masters — especially prolific writers like King and, to a lesser extent, output-wise, Lehane — start to expand beyond their boundaries later in their careers, as their powers/expertise/curiosity grows. Conversely a lot of so-called literary writers fold genre conventions/elements/effects into their work and no one sees this as limiting, but rather as expansive.
Agreed. And I understand your main point was about writers breaking the rules of genre and creating something new. I feel like whether it's that or an author trying something new for them, the excitement comes from the same place. The thrill of discovery--an author saying, "Hey, what if...?"
I came here wondering how many people were going to nitpick your comment about Gibson being Canadian but perhaps I’m the only one... haha
by the Revered Rules of Canadian Celebrity, he is definitely Canadian:
https://twitter.com/sternbergh/status/1569379925638975496
Maybe so but I still want to see an asterisk on that asterisk.
Duly noted! (I had actually forgotten he was born in the USA until you mentioned it. There's a worthy sub-niche of American expat Canadian celebs of which he is one of the greatest. Also Jane Jacobs.)