Which is your favourite genre? This is the question that all of us had to answer at some point.
It’s also the question that I find it the hardest to give a definite answer to. I like fantasy
elements and romance elements, I also like a little mystery and I love everything set in a
different era. So, is fantasy, romance, mystery or historical fiction my favourite genre? I say
none of them.
Take for example Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I love this novel, I’ve read it numerous times
and when they ask me what I enjoy to read then this title comes to my mind. But I can’t label
it under one genre. You see, it’s divided into six stories, each one written in a different style
and set in a different era. In the same book exists a historical story, a science fiction story, a
mystery story and a dystopian one. If I say that this is a science fiction novel then I feel that I
don’t do it justice.
Another example like that is Kafka on the Shore, or any other novel by Haruki Murakami. All
of his works are complex. They are realistic, but fantasy elements are prominent in them. This
is what we call magical realism. Why should a new label like this be necessary? This is the
world that the author imagined and it might or might not resemble our own.
So, this is the reason why I don’t read a particular genre anymore. If you ask me what I read
I’ll answer that I read David Mitchell, Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman. I read stories about
characters that I care about and I want to know the feelings, thoughts and motives of these
characters. I’m happy that genre-bending is a thing. It’s time to throw away those boxes, to
pick up books because of the story and not of the genre they are written.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beautifully explained. Thank you, Aeriko. Do take a look at her blog and follow her,
The Reading Armchair
It’s also the question that I find it the hardest to give a definite answer to. I like fantasy
elements and romance elements, I also like a little mystery and I love everything set in a
different era. So, is fantasy, romance, mystery or historical fiction my favourite genre? I say
none of them.
Take for example Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I love this novel, I’ve read it numerous times
and when they ask me what I enjoy to read then this title comes to my mind. But I can’t label
it under one genre. You see, it’s divided into six stories, each one written in a different style
and set in a different era. In the same book exists a historical story, a science fiction story, a
mystery story and a dystopian one. If I say that this is a science fiction novel then I feel that I
don’t do it justice.
Another example like that is Kafka on the Shore, or any other novel by Haruki Murakami. All
of his works are complex. They are realistic, but fantasy elements are prominent in them. This
is what we call magical realism. Why should a new label like this be necessary? This is the
world that the author imagined and it might or might not resemble our own.
So, this is the reason why I don’t read a particular genre anymore. If you ask me what I read
I’ll answer that I read David Mitchell, Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman. I read stories about
characters that I care about and I want to know the feelings, thoughts and motives of these
characters. I’m happy that genre-bending is a thing. It’s time to throw away those boxes, to
pick up books because of the story and not of the genre they are written.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beautifully explained. Thank you, Aeriko. Do take a look at her blog and follow her,
The Reading Armchair
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