Recently, I came across a post by a literary agency, claiming that the problem with too many fledgling novelists is that their novels are not sufficiently ‘page-turning.’
The article claimed that this was also the affliction of 19th century novelists who created too many diversions in their narratives.
The contemporary reader, evidently, has no time for such saggy centres and wants only to progress at lightening speed onto the next page. Our attention span is very limited these days, it claimed, and any author worth his or her salt will appreciate this and move their fiction at a pace that does not allow for any pause or contemplation or – dare I say it – interesting side note.
We have little time, our lives are too busy, getting and spending and generally doing to have leisurely moments to read at a moderate pace. Speedy consumption is all.
Well, yes.
And no.
Actually no.
Of course television has had a massive impact on our expectations of cliff-hangers and fast paced action resolving a narrative swiftly and climactically.
But the idea that we, well and comfortably lodged in the 21st century as we are, have less time for reading than our 19th and early 20th century counterparts is clearly absurd.
Think of the average woman a century or more ago- we are not talking aristocracy with a retinue of servants- in her Victorian, Edwardian or pre-war terrace house, with daily duties such as fires to light, three cooked meals to prepare (no swift cheese sandwich and smoothie on the hoof served family members for lunch in those days) dusting, cleaning, washing, darning, knitting, sewing – all without modern appliances. The notion that she had more time for a quiet read than today’s equivalent simply does not make sense.
To be honest, I found the literary agency’s post somewhat depressing – and bewildering – since 19th century writers, so condemned by this piece, seemed to have done rather well out of their so called saggy centres and certainly their diverting deliberations.
Dickens for a start.
George Eliot for another.
And Charlotte Bronte seems quite fond of a philosophical or back story diversion when it suits and Jane Eyre appears to have stood the test of time.
The term ‘page turner’ has always irritated me as it seems to reduce an author to a production line, packing and packaging a commodity for instant consumption.
Just as the review claim of a brilliant story – read it in one evening! sends chills rather than thrills down my spine.
I mean, how long does it take to write a novel?
The thought that someone can consume something that has taken months or years to write seems depressing rather than something to celebrate.
Of course genres vary.
A police procedural, crime or mystery novel might require that ‘page-turning’ ingredient to propel the narrative.
But there are a great many other genres for whom such speed would be entirely inappropriate.
And surely the idea of the ‘red herring’ drives many dramatic tale of murder, intrigue or espionage – that has to be considered a diversion but with a definite purpose attached to it.
Then there’s character-driven fiction where back stories can contribute so much to the complexity of a protagonist. It might not make for a page-turning experience if we read of what happened to a character twenty, thirty or forty years before the start of the novel, but it will help build the conviction of the character and engage the reader’s empathy and often serve as essential material for the story.
Narrative drive is, of course, important.
But character-driven novels need the reader to stop and consider. To admire the scenery, contemplate the setting, wonder about the inner workings of the protagonist’s mind.
And, dare I say it, observe the language and skill of the author.
So it seems to me that whilst some novels are ‘page-turners,’ and need to dispense with diversion, others are utterly different. And not all novels should be placed in the same streamlined basket.
It’s a bit like comparing an instant or take-away meal with a laboriously prepared, chopped, measured and slowly braised one.
One brings instant gratification and the other the satisfaction of a slowly contemplated and pursued path towards a denouement.
So I’d like to take to task this literary agency, instructing all aspiring novelists, regardless of genre, to speed their narratives and dispense with diverting delicacies which tax the reader’s limited attention span.
We don’t all choose to live lives at quite such frenetic speeds without a moment to pause over a perfect phrase, a poignant observation.
And after all, life itself is full of diversions and deviations, layers and dimensions – and the novel sets out to imitate life and the human experience- in all its messy and marvellous complications and confusions!
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