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/lit/ - Literature

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11077363 No.11077363 [Reply] [Original]

Okay guys, this might seem like a stupid question, but I need to know. How is it decided whether a particular work of fiction is literary or genre fiction? I know the popular understanding is that any work that does not fit into a genre is literary fiction, but that can't be right, because many works of literary fiction could fit into genres (e.g. The Handmaid's Tale into Science Fiction, for instance). Is it decided by the style of writing? If so, how is that measured? Is it just marketing? If that's the case, isn't the whole idea of literary and genre fiction meaningless? It can't be just because a book is old, because then modern literary fiction wouldn't be a thing. Is it just a feeling one gets when reading the text? If so, that's a pretty subjective thing.

Pls help /lit/. I need answers.

>> No.11077649

>isn't the whole idea of literary and genre fiction meaningless?
Yes it is meaningless
/thread

>> No.11077656
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11077656

>>11077649
I can live with that.

>> No.11077921

>>11077363
It's the difference between eating at Chili's and eating at Le Bernardin. In a sense it is subjective. There are probably some people that would prefer Chili's. But regardless one is clearly superior to the other. Taste, texture, arrangement, ingredients... etc.

>> No.11078002

>>11077363
genre fiction is about the aesthetic, literary about the writing

>> No.11078059

You're looking genre fiction vs. contemporary fiction

Either can be considered literary fiction, if the narrative is good enough

>> No.11078132

Is it boring? Lit.
Is it very old? Lit.
Do impossible things happen? Genre, unless it's foreign (but not Japanese), in which case it's Magical Realism, which is Lit. If it's Japanese then it's isekai or just plain weeb shit, which is Genre despite being the exact same thing.
Is it written for nerds or plebs? Genre.

>> No.11078351

Genre fiction acknowledges the truth that plot, setting, and character are all important in storytelling.
Lit fic (which is itself a genre) pretends plot and setting are not important.

>> No.11079034

>>11077363
The ultimate purpose of the work defines its genre, wherein "literary" counts as well--at least nominally.

Only while reading successful literary works do you drink Scotch neat. While reading among the rest you can enjoy popcorn, candy or other treats as you like.

>> No.11079042

>>11077363
Literary fiction or imaginative fiction are terms for people who want to write fantastical works but don't want to be associated with their consumerist counterparts

>> No.11079121
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11079121

>>11077363
It's mostly marketing.

But there are ways to generally categorize. This requires painting broadly, but...

Genre fiction is basically pornography. It mechanically fulfills a need for distraction, repeating a vigorous, familiar in-out to achieve a predetermined outcome. The genre--the need to scratch the sci-fi itch or the western itch or the romance itch--guides the work almost like the progression of a PorhHub vid. Fast-forward to BJ, doggie, missionary, cumshot. You know what you're getting, and the interest is in the newness or perfection of those things.

Literary fiction, at least when it's any good, is more about discovery--of surprising new stories, unexplored aspects of unusual characters and inner lives, of stunning moments of connection between words and images. Literary fiction scratches a shapeless kind of itch.

The surface of genre fiction (sci-fi tropes and the like) has entered the literary fiction, so you might make the mistake of thinking there are no meaningful differences. But then you should think a little harder.

>> No.11079267

Literary fiction places more emphasis on how the story is told than the average genre work. Aesthetically speaking.

>> No.11079297

>>11079121
>repeating a vigorous, familiar in-out to achieve a predetermined outcome
Quality in scifi is measured mostly by novelty. It has to take into account the latest scientific progress. Formulaic scifi exists, but the respected works all advance the genre.