Many authors set out to write a timeless classic: War and Peace, Ulysses, or The Great Gatsby spring to mind. They want to make their mark and be remembered throughout history like the literary heroes before them. But more and more, as the grinding gears of time and the commercial nature of publishing pushes genre fiction to the forefront, another type of novel is taking over.
Topical.
As much as fiction referencing recent events or current topics is viewed in a negative light by the high brow literary community, it seems to be gaining steam. Topical novels have drawn the ire of plenty. On the flip side, being timely and piggybacking off current events have launched or bolstered many a professional writer's career. But has the topical tidal wave gotten out of control? Has it washed away the infrastructure of what made timeless literature great?
I may be in a better position than most to answer this question. I just published a topical thriller of my own.
Do you ever get that surreal feeling when you're reading fiction to escape the world and all of a sudden it feels like you stepped off the page back into real life? I did while reading Daniel Silva's The Order. It was like entering the Twilight Zone. One second I'm in Gabriel Allon's fictional spy world and the next it's paralleling reality so distinctly that I'm thrown through a loop.
Is that bad? It can definitely make a reader uneasy if they're not expecting it.
Want another example? How about the litany of Covid-19 books that raced each other to hit the market after the pandemic turned our lives upside down. Being a topical writer myself, I initially wanted to take advantage of this juicy subject matter (the mystery and subterfuge around how Covid-19 may have started was like a thriller writing itself), but ultimately decided not to for one important reason.
When a topical novel is based on something negative in our lives that we've experienced to the point of exhaustion, in most cases it's doomed to failure. Sure, a few Covid-19 novels were probably successful. But exhaustion from the topic held readers back. That's something all topical novels have to face, but especially the more prevalent a topic is in daily life.
I don't think topical fiction is played out. In a way, everything is topical. A Farewell to Arms is set entirely during World War I, and having some context makes the story that much better. The Master and Margarita is set in Stalinist Russia, and many aspects of life in the Soviet Union tie heavily into the plot. Classic literature can be topical in its own way. But it resonates. It isn't too narrow, and doesn't strictly rely on the reader living in that time period to understand what's going on.
That brings us to the most important lesson. Like many things, balance is key. There is a fine line to be walked between relating to our lives and being an escape from them. Many readers love books for the escapism, and, yes, that even applies to topical fiction readers. References can be worked in, and a book can even be based entirely on something topical without making it so in your face or exhaustive that readers are turned off. It's all about finding that balance between relevance and escapism. And about being honest with the reader. Let them know what they're getting into. Because there's nothing worse as a writer than losing the reader's trust.
Topical fiction is here to stay as long as there's money to be made, but if writers commit to balance and subtlety it will persist on merits alone.
Charles Harned graduated from Clemson University and has garnered praise from the Southeastern Writers Association and Charlotte Writers Club. After stints in freelance journalism and political fundraising, he published A Day in Fall, his first novel. An avid sports fan, he enjoys running, kayaking, and painting in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. | www.charlesharned.com
Comments