How we talk about fiction

 I take Naomi Kanakia’s essay “The Dreariness of Book Club Discussions” as a challenge. I’ve got to get better at reading and talking about fiction.

Kanakia points out some obvious things. When we talk about fiction with friends, most of us simply state what we like and what we don’t. It’s a short discussion.

When we read nonfiction, on the other hand, we are reading about ideas — something we can argue about. Those discussions tend to be more interesting. As a result, some book clubs — and some literary reviews — lean heavily on nonfiction.

The people enjoy fiction. They want to read it. The interest and passion just doesn’t show up in the discussions.

That’s a broad statement. No doubt there are book clubs that have discussions of fiction that are ripsnorters. But my experience is in line with Kanakia’s. 

Her essay has stuck in my mind. I’m still thinking about a constructive way to respond to it.

• Source: Naomi Kanakia, “The Dreariness of Book Club Discussions”; Los Angeles Review of Books, Nov. 2, 2022.

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-dreariness-of-book-club-discussions/