Comments on: FLIRTING WITH GENRE http://www.tvlocicero.com/2012/09/10/flirting-with-genre-part-1/ The Books of T. V. LoCicero Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:11:58 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.9.10 By: tvl http://www.tvlocicero.com/2012/09/10/flirting-with-genre-part-1/#comment-17 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:11:58 +0000 https://tvlocicerocom1.ipage.com/dev/?p=682#comment-17 Thanks so much for your comments.Yes, I think you’re on to something about the experience of reading crime. It does seem to serve some deep psychological needs, maybe, as you say, helping us negotiate hidden guilt of our own. I suppose something similar can be said about certain other genres such as psychological fiction, suspense and horror, and sometimes serving more obvious, less hidden needs with romance, erotica and fantasy. What I also find interesting is how many great novels blur the lines, mix the genres and generally confound the desire to categorize.

I appreciate your stopping by. Please come again.

]]> By: litlove http://www.tvlocicero.com/2012/09/10/flirting-with-genre-part-1/#comment-16 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:38:51 +0000 https://tvlocicerocom1.ipage.com/dev/?p=682#comment-16 I think those are wise words, from you and LeGuin. I read almost everything (never got on well with sci-fi, the undead or other horror, but you never know, the book could come along) and pleasure is the result of meeting a voice that really appeals. Which can happen anywhere, under any circumstances or indeed in any marketing category. I think it’s very sensible not to take these distinctions too seriously, and I certainly wouldn’t be swayed by them in my reading choices.

Do you think that crime readers feel less guilty than others because reading crime is fundamentally a way of negotiating guilt? The crime occurs, guilt is pervasive among a community and then, finally and thankfully an arrest is made, the moving finger comes to a rest. Guilt is attributed and the rest of us can walk away, innocent.

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