Michael Chabon on Genre

I was recently give a print-out of an interview with author Michael Chabon. It was from the website io9.com and the interview is called "Geeking Out About Genres With Michael Chabon." (I would add a link to this blog, but I'm not that technologically sophisticated.) When asked about authors being pigeonholed into certain genres, particularly science fiction and fantasy, and whether or not it's just a marketing issue, Michael responded with this:

I think, in the end, it is largely a marketing issue. Personally I would prefer to see bookstores shelve all fiction together regardless of genre. Or maybe just have two sections, "Good Stuff" and "Crap." Into Crap we will consign all novels regardless of genre or reputation that trade in cliche' and dead language. If I ever own a bookstore I will do it that way. Only I will just leave out the Crap section.

My appreciation for him grows and grows.

In The Woods

I just finished Tana French’s first novel In the Woods. I feel content and yet somewhat dissatisfied. I hadn’t realized that she was beginning a series and so I expected more closure to the “bigger” mystery. In The Woods introduces the reader to Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, both detectives in the fictional Dublin Murder Squad. As partners they are called to the suburb of Knocknaree to investigate the murder of a 12 year old girl who was found near the woods that surround the town. The case becomes entwined with the twenty year old mystery of two missing children and their friend who was found bloody and clinging to a tree with no memory. The book follows Rob’s quest to solve the recent murder and the mystery of his missing friends because he was the found boy-a secret only his parents and Cassie know. Tana French does an excellent job of pulling the reader in and painting an excellent picture of the setting and the characters. I found myself reading as fast as I could through the middle, as the story began to stall. When it picked up again I was immediately engrossed. If you’re in the mood for a well written mystery, but are not necessarily a reader of the mystery genre then this book is for you.