What's your beef with genre fiction?

Here’s my response to these two articles for my Creative Writing: Genre Fiction course.

Lev Grossman for Time:

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/05/23/genre-fiction-is-disruptive-technology/

Arthur Krystal for The New Yorker: 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/10/its-genre-fiction-not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-it.html

Considering the name of my course I am writing this post for, my stance in the debate should come as no surprise. Though I align myself more closely with Grossman’s positive appraisal of the worth of genre fiction, I do not think these two articles are diametrically opposed. In Krystal’s rather verbose way, he is trying to set a clear distinction between literary fiction and genre fiction, and thus, tends to privilege the latter over the former in terms of worth. By so vehemently maintaining that the distinction between literary and genre fiction is fundamental and a question superiority, Krystal sets himself up for defeat. My problem with this vision of the fiction divide may be closer to that expressed in Grossman’s piece, though I have my own ideas to add. As is so simply and elegantly expressed by the last line of Grossman’s article:

“They’re all just books, and good books are treasures beyond price, and vive la difference”.

I might summarise the issue even more simplistically. All books have their place. And, to be perfectly honest, I feel that the “shitty fiction” that Grossman refers to as being the real target of Krystal’s beef with genre fiction, also has its place. I confess to reading what both Krystal and Grossman would consider “shitty fiction”. If indeed difference is to be celebrated as Grossman says, why not celebrate the bad as well as the good? And who are we really to condescend to call something that people enjoy reading bad? Bad and good are such subjective concepts anyway. I can imagine many tweenage Twilight fans arguing that the “shitty fiction” they like to read is worthwhile. All things in moderation while embracing diversity. It would, after all, be disastrous to suggest assigning Twilight onto the high school English curriculum to replace Oscar Wilde or Harper Lee. Just imagine. Em dashes everywhere. Awful.

Though I disagree with how Krystal turns his nose up at genre fiction, I agree with him on the point that there needs to be a distinction between how we read it and literary fiction. Without a distinction or hierarchy--of sorts--(there I am with the em dashes! Pow!) the world of reading may be thrown into anarchy. There really should be at degree of distinction between the two, or we may have a situation like Stephenie Meyer being taught in schools on our hands. By the same token, I think the snob percentile of literary fiction puritans need to realise that what one reads does not determine intelligence or social class. As I mentioned before, even "shitty fiction" has its place. Maybe not in the classroom, unless it's a how-not-to-write tutorial example, but these books can be great for a little escapism. Kudos to both Krystal and Grossman for that idea. Aimed at Krystal: any kind of reading, books, and fiction can be escapism. Moderation in every facet of life is beneficial, reading included. Reading both literary and genre fiction helps us improve our grasp of language, our own writing skills, and our understanding of the world and other people in it.

-Bon