John Irving | Turn the Page Reviews

Today is Day 3 of the Armchair BEA! Today’ s Genre is Literary Fiction. When I saw this I was a little confused-hmmm, what is literary fiction exactly? So, I do what everyone does when they find themselves in need on information- I googled it. As best as I can put together, literary fiction is- “critically acclaimed”, serious, focuses on subject, not plot, “based in language”, lyrical and poetic, and focused on character development. Ok- this I can work with.

So far this year, I have enjoyed The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin- https://turnthepagereviews.com/2013/04/17/the-orchardist/

I also really like Silver Lining Playbook by Matthew Quick-

https://turnthepagereviews.com/2013/04/01/silver-lining-playbook/

In the future, I would like to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Life of Pi. I also can’t wait to get my hands on And The Mountains Echoed!

For someone just getting into literary fiction, I would recommend The Cider House Rules by John Irving or The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kinsolver. Also- The Kite Runner was amazing!!

I honestly have trouble differentiating between genres sometimes. Another book many would call a classic, but I think qualifies, would be Pride & Prejudice.

I think the label “literary fiction” can be off putting, as if you have to be a Literature major in order to read certain books. I think that is ridiculous! Anyone can read any book, as long as they enjoy it. If it feels like work, or a chore, then it is not meant to be.

Maybe I should remind myself of that as I try to tackle more “classics” 🙂