Literary endings

[jethrien]

I've read a number of acclaimed literary novels this year, many of which I've enjoyed most of. (For the purposes of this post, I'm specifically thinking of Little Bee, Parrot and Olivier in America, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Bel Canto, and The Piano Tuner.) And it's occurring to me that a large percentage of modern literary novels I've read, and all of the five I've listed here, have disappointing endings. (See also Her Fearful Symmetry, The Magicians, and pretty much anything Neal Stephanson has written, for literary/speculative crossovers with the same problem.)

All of them have a really intriguing idea at the heart. The characters are engaging and believable. The prose is gorgeous. The plot rolls along, pulling you in, and then at the very last second (frequently on the last page), slams into an inexplicable wall. Quite a lot of them foreshadowed their (usually tragic) ending early on, and yet it still feels like a shock, and not in a good way. It's more like the author abruptly realized that s/he had run out of events/writing time, and suddenly brought the book to a close as quickly as possible, even if the lovely graceful flow that had been sustained throughout was suddenly shattered.

I guess part of the problem is that modern literary novels are usually more focused on internal revelation than external events. The main characters' arcs had all come to a resting place, so there was no reason to continue the book...except for that pesky plot the author started. Better wrap that up right now. No one likes a denouement these days.

Except that I'm also an avid reader of genre fiction, where plot is more important than characterization. You will forgive an author who doesn't quite manage a perfect character arc if the plot gets tied up well at the end. But I've read more genre fiction that handles characterization as gracefully as plot than I've read modern literary fiction that handles plot as gracefully as characterization and description.

Is it too much to ask for both?

Comments

A recommendation

[(Anonymous)]

You interested in The Great House? I've got a copy and it is beautifully written, although, yes, somewhat depressing.
http://www.amazon.com/Great-House-Novel-Nicole-Krauss/dp/0393079988
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Re: A recommendation

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Sure, although I probably won't get around to it for a couple months. I have a pile I'm working my way through right now.

[firynze.livejournal.com]

I feel that this problem is why a lot of modern literary novels HAVE no plot, which almost annoys me more. They're much more interested in navel-gazing, but if they start on that pesky plot, something has to be done with it, so they roll it up as fast as they can and tuck it under the carpet in embarrassment.

It is, apparently, too much to ask for both, most of the time. Sigh.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I'll admit, it's not like I can do better. My characterization skills are not nearly as strong as I'd like. But then, this is why I'm not a published novelist at the moment. (Or rather, why I have a novel and a half that I'm not willing to show anyone at the moment. Plot basically works, characters don't.)

[firynze.livejournal.com]

But you KNOW that something isn't working, and you're intent on fixing it, neh?

For some reason, literary novelists seem rather disinclined to fix the missing bits; "genre" seems to do better, on the whole, though you still get the strength biases, but "literary" gets a pass when it comes to actually being the whole package. I can't begin to describe how much this irks me.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a memoir, though. I thought his comments in the foreword were apropos: that the first part of the book is great, and then the rest is nonsense. Which it is. Also, since I read it, I've learned what a stuck-up pretentious prick the author is, which makes me less willing to be charitable toward the book.

I think with a lot of literary novels they're so focused on the mood and the psychology that the author has no idea how to end it. For an ending to feel satisfying, there needs to be a plot. And if you're trying to show character growth...that's not a plot. It can happen in the context of a plot, but it isn't one by itself, and I think a lot of literary authors give themselves a pass on plotting because that's somehow commercial and selling out. And yet some of the greatest literary novels have had great plots--Brothers Karamazov is first and foremost a murder mystery, for example.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

It's a memoir, sure, except that he freely admits that there's a fair amount of fiction in it. He absolutely could have crafted those events into a plot, but chose not to.

And the fact he's a pretentious prick comes through loud and clear.