According to a long ago college professor, we're living in
an extremely depressing time period. The professor claimed popular fiction and
movies say a lot about the mental state of people of any era. During World War II people turned to comedy
because they were depressed and scared, but continued to hope. He listed several other examples, but the one
that stayed with me concerns the paranormal.
If the professor is right, then the upsurge in fantasy, the
supernatural, the occult, magic, and mythical creatures in today's books and
movies denotes depression and fear without hope.
I'm not sure why I remembered that old lecture and I'm not
sure what was used to back up those premises.
Perhaps it came to mind because the last half dozen books I've read have
all had some supernatural element--and these were all books by writers who are
active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that is
usually pretty conservative and pragmatic. Usually as far as LDS writers stray into this
field is to touch on miracles, angelic manifestations, and glimpses of the
afterlife. Let me say up front, most of these books are very well written and
carry positive messages that go beyond the supernatural or paranormal. I enjoyed the stories and admired each
author's ability to tell a tale.
However, though it may be just a matter of taste, I've had enough. I'm
tired of ghosts, demons, and assorted magical paraphernalia. Right now I have a strong preference for
realistic people doing realistic things whether they do it now, in the past, or
in the future.
My personal reading tastes have gone through phases since I
was a small child and read every animal story I could find. In the third grade I was fascinated by fairy
tales and mythology. From there I leaped to girl sleuths. I read all the Tarzan books I could get my
hands on and from there explored science fiction. Westerns came next. My love affair with historical epics and
sagas followed and alternated for years with mystery/detective books. Romance novels became a quick, easy break
from stress. During all the years I
worked as a librarian, I dabbled around with all kinds of books and as a
reviewer I read a wide variety of genres.
Though I don't like horror, I can tolerate the horror elements Jeffrey
S. Savage and Gregg Luke add to their mystery/suspense novels because they're
great writers and spin fascinating yarns.
I find some science fiction novels clever and interesting, but most seem
to go on much too long and I lose interest before I finish. Generally the Young Adult ones are better
than the ones aimed at adults, if they don't get too silly. Overall, I enjoy a broad spectrum of
novels. I'm more interested in
well-written than genre, but I get tired of too many books of the same type
read consecutively. Today I cringe at
the thought of checking out from the library a dozen or more books of one genre
as I once did. And did I tell you to
hold the supernatural? I've had enough
for now of ghosts, demons, and things that go bump in the night.
That's something I enjoy about today's LDS fiction; there
are enough genres and literary works to suit most tastes, phases, or
preferences. There are enough styles,
too, to satisfy readers who prefer simple, straight-forward tales to the
complicated "most of the story is found between the lines" type of
story. There are books with strong LDS themes and ones where a reader would
have to search pretty hard to find anything remotely church related. I can't help laughing when I hear people say
they don't read LDS fiction. He/she read so-and-so's book and decided LDS
fiction was inferior and not to that person's taste. I don't care how popular one author may be, his
or her books cannot be judged as indicative of all LDS fiction. If a person
doesn't read general market romance, he/she will not be impressed with LDS
romance. If a person has zero interest in historical novels why would that
person expect to enjoy an LDS historical? Even so, as a person who once overloaded on a
single genre, I suggest readers try different types of books from time to
time. It's surprising what one may
discover.
A wise teacher once told me "never get too grown up to believe in fairies." I've decided he was right. Each life needs a bit of magic, but for now, hold the ghosts.
Don't forget every comment this month is a chance to win a book from my review shelf or my new book, Where the River Once Flowed.
11 comments:
I love most speculative fiction so I doubt I'd ever get tired of vampires and werewolves. But I do need to take a break in between, like clearing your palette with lemon ice between courses in a long meal.
And I agree with you. There are so many LDS authors now, both in and out of the "LDS" genre, that blanket statements no longer apply.
I'm an eclectic reader too. I find belonging to book clubs keeps me varied and introduces me to new authors that I wouldn't normally read. As for your theory, I can see it. We all feel powerless and reading and watching things with people who have some kind of super power is a great escape.
I loved this post! I've done the same thing, though more with authors - reading everything there is out there by an author until I can't read them anymore.
The interesting thing is that several of the "ghost" books coming out now were actually written a long time ago. HB Moore's Heart of the Ocean and my novel, Dark Memories were both written over eight years ago. Sometimes a bunch of books with similar topics just hit at the same time.
True, Jeff. HEART was first drafted in 2002. And Sarah Eden's UNLIKELY MATCH, another ghost story recently released by Covenant, was self-pubbed under a different title several years ago. I think we're seeing more paranormal novels by LDS publishers because they are opening their doors a little wider to various genres. I remember when it was a big deal that Deseret Book published Rachel Nunes' paranormal series AUTUMN RAIN . . . many authors saw that as a great opportunity to get their paranormal books published with an LDS publisher as well. It was big news for many LDS authors, and they were watching to see how the series would be received by the LDS reading audience. The other publishers were watching as well, taking their lead from DB. Before Nunes' break-through, the LDS writers who wrote paranormal were submitting to national publishers. At least that's what I was doing :-)
I don't disagree with the main premise of this post, but doesn't the fact that "darker" fantasy genres are more prevalent mean things are better now, not worse? If the general mood is depressed, been through a lot, needs to relax, they're going to turn to something light-hearted, like comedy, not stories about ghosts and vampires and whatnot.
Thank you. I love that you suggest reading many types of books and not judging a whole selection of books and authors by one novel. Well written! :) Thank you again.
Very well put!
I joined to a book club to expand my literary horizons. However, there are still genres that I don't fully appreciate. Romantic vampires just don't do it for me, no matter how many are in print and how many films have been made. Personally, I do gravitate to murder mysteries. Thanks.
I use to enjoy the ghost, crime, and other similar scary genres, when I was younger, but now I am more about reading the happily ever after, life will be alright no matter the challenges type. Not to say that the other books were not good, but my tastes have changed over time.
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