It was especially fun and impressive to see the passion
people have for their favorite books and their eagerness to discuss fiction in
general. Not only do passionate readers love books, they’re eager to share
finds and defend favorites. Plenty of people had great suggestions for books
that were worthy of inclusion and study in a class devoted to recent American
fiction.
For me, the most interesting word in the class title was
“fiction” instead of “literature.” The term literature makes me feel that I’d
have to suggest a title that was Important. Worthy. Maybe even Award Winning.
If we’re talking about important recent American literature, we’d have to
consider the undeniable powerhouse books like those by Jonathan Franzen
and Junot Diaz.
As intriguing as I’ve found those acclaimed titles, I’ve
found the trends in recent American fiction even more fascinating. Instead of
just focusing on stellar titles, I think it’s fun and instructive to look at the
changes seen in recent American fiction. In my slightly more than a decade on
the information desk in a public library, I saw a lot of changes, developments,
and surprises in American fiction.
Trend 1. I swear I
felt the ground shift beneath my feet after I finished a little book called
Twilight. Thanks to a bunch of glittery vampires, Young Adult literature moved
from Sweet Valley High into the mainstream. Adults started pulling books from
the shelves that had been reserved for readers with more recently acquired
driver’s licenses. This development was brought into full force with Suzanne
Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy.
Trend 2. These Young Adult books also started a book to film
pipeline that has started to slow only recently, glutted with dystopian tales
of princesses who must save their planet through arcane magic and ninja combat
skills.
Trend 3. Closely related was the zombie book trend. Though
the zombie trend brought us some great books – Alden Bell’s The Reapers Are the
Angels and Max Brooks’ World War Z come to mind - this trend seems to be staggering slowly into the sunset.
Trend 4. Erotica comes to Target. Fifty Shades of Grey and
its imitators brought erotica into the mainstream.
Trend 5. The blockbuster kids’ book was another recent
development in American fiction. Nothing could rival the success of the boy
wizard – and Harry Potter was a British book – but series like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid became a global bestseller and sensation.
Trend 6. Graphic novels get respect. This sector of the
publishing business has flourished not only financially but also artistically.
Graphic novels have come a long way from their comic book roots. American Born
Chinese is not just a great graphic novel, it’s a great novel, period.
Trend 7. “Girl” books. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The
Girl on the Train. Gone Girl. In the future, sociologists will explain why
books about women in dangerous situations had to have a title with “Girl” in
it.
What trends have you noticed in recent American fiction?
What book do you think should be included in a Recent
American Fiction class?
