As long as I’m in a complaining mood today anyway, I may as well mention that one of the reasons I’m not a big fan of so-called “literary fiction” is the way authors of this stuff so often play with the standard rules and techniques of fiction writing. Presumably they’re trying for some kind of effect, and also presumably fans of LitFic appreciate and enjoy this; me, I just think it comes across as pretentious and gimmicky.

Case in point: I’m currently reading a novel called This is the Place by Peter Rock, which, in general, I am enjoying. (Rock has created some wonderful evocations of Wendover, Nevada, and the Bonneville Salt Flats, two places I just visited last month.) However, the guy is apparently unaware of the existence of the quotation mark. None of the book’s dialogue uses it. Instead, you’re just supposed to pick up from context that someone is speaking, as in this passage:

How you doing, Jamie? The bartender knew what she wanted before she said a word. He brought two cocktails and she drank the first one fast.

 

I’m doing, she said. Hard at work here.

It’s not a huge thing, but it’s driving me crazy. It’s sometimes confusing, but the biggest issue is that I just don’t see any reason, artistic or otherwise, for doing it, and it’s coming off as more of a distraction, an affectation, than anything that adds value to the work…