Are we trying too hard?

[This the third in what's turned into a bit of series of articles that I've written about genre and genre commentary. Again, it's written with a bent toward spurring discussion, not attacking anyone.]

Kitschies Award poster.

The Kitschies, a series of genre awards put together by the Pornokitsch blog and Kraken Rum, will announce their winners later today at the SFX Weekender.  According to their mission statement, they want to elevate the tone of genre literature -- a nebulous but worthy goal.  When I saw the shortlist for best novel, which coincided with the publishing of Liz Bourke's review of Michael J. Sullivan's Theft of Swords and Damien G. Walter's post called 7 literary Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels you must read, I wondered to myself, elevating the tone at what cost?

When I first started reading fantasy, oh so long ago, I began where most do -- Lloyd Alexander, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, and the like.  I lost myself in a world of imagination that seemed so unlike the space I occupied while reading.  Looking back, I maintain a nostalgic affection for these authors, but no longer consider them among the better things I've read.  These were books whose covers cast me in a certain light, encouraging me to keep them obscured when in public.  As time wore on, I never stopped being self conscious about those covers, even as the quality of what I was reading improved.

In recent years, SFF bloggers (myself included) have tried to convince mainstream readers that the things we read have merit.  Awards like The Kitschies seem created, almost exclusively, to serve this purpose.  It seems as if reviews like the ones written by Bourke are geared towards eradicating a certain type of incredibly popular genre fiction and posts like Walter's almost shame (for lack of a better term) readers into reading those things accepted by the mainstream.  I believe we should demand better writing and better storytelling.  Where we differ, is that I believe in demonstrating value in the things that the mainstream rejects, not only those things they embrace.

When I made my list of best SFF books of 2011, I didn't put Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife on the list, even though it was the best book I read last year.  I didn't do it because, in my mind, it isn't genre.  It's got some magic, or supernatural plot devices, but only by happenstance.  It is not a Fantasy novel, rather Obreht wrote a mainstream literary novel with a hint of fantasy.  Looking at The Kitschies list, I see a few of that variety, and even more on Walter's.

I'm not denigrating what The Kitschies and Walter are trying to do.  As I stated in my opening, I think it's a worthy goal.  Among all the noise, there is absolutely a place for it in the discussion.  I simply believe we need to be careful.  I think Bourke illustrates my point.  In her recent review of Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan, she eviscerates both the book, the author, and the publisher for its existence.  It's not so much her critiques of the book, but the tone with which she delivers them.  As though we should be ashamed that we bought it, or read it, or God forbid enjoyed it.

I, for one, refuse to be ashamed for what I read.  The Kitschies, or Walter's post, or Bourke's review, or any of the other host of posts and awards with similar make-up, taken in a vacuum, are a wonderful addition to the wide wonderful world of genre reading and commentary.  In fact, I can't think of many people whose opinions I trust more than the folks at Pornokitsch.  What worries me though, is the growing trend among genre commentators to laude novels that walk and talk like the mainstream at the expense of the rest.  This is akin to the pretty girl taking her best friend to prom and ditching him for the quarterback.  Who exactly are we trying to impress?

Fantasy is about divorcing from reality.  Not to escape, but to shirk the baggage that the real world brings with it.  It frees us to explore themes and ideas unhindered.  I fear that in a misguided attempt at recognition by the mainstream literary community we're ceding that freedom.  I hope I'm wrong.  I also hope that all of individuals I mentioned in this post continue to do the kind of work they're doing, pushing the genre to do better.  I know I'll be doing the same.  My only advice is that while we do it, we don't forget where we come from.