From genre to v. good

WHENEVER you feel you might be writing something hardly worth reading, you can always quote American author Gore Vidal.

Vidal said: 'American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.'

I wonder whether Vidal was commenting also on American foreign policy since that country long ago dumped the philosophy of isolationism into history's dustbin. A monstrous heroic adventure is easy to justify in terms of greatness, while finding the goodness in doing the right thing can be a pains-taking task.

Thankfully, I am not pursuing such weighty moral questions here, but glancing at what makes good writing.

My novel Iraqi Icicle is from the detective thriller genre which began with the works of Raymond Chandler last century after World War I. I have tried to transcend the genre to make my novel good, or, I hope, verging on the very good.

Genres rarely rate much above a pass mark from critical judges. In many cases, you can see why. Thriller writers, even the best of them, tend to attain their loyal following by repeating a winning formula. We have the hugely ironic situation that most of the world's leading novelists achieve fame and fotune by producing books which are not novel; which are, in fact, the antithesis of newness. Their successful novels should be called repetitives. Don't miss Dan B. Rowling's latest blockbuster repetitive.

I believe this phenomenon of successful writing is tied to readers' comfort in the known rather than being a shortcoming of genres.

My favourite analogy on this topic is the career of British rock group The Beatles who started as imitators of the American genre, rhythm&blues. That was 1950s R&B, not the modern one where young Black, and sometimes, White women sing out loud on a beach or on the street where they just happen to have 33 people dancing sexily behind them.

The Beatles transcended their choice of genre to produce greatness. I would like to do that with the detective thriller genre. Only, remembering Vidal's warning, I am only after very goodness.
Irai Icicle is available in Europe and the Americas from www.Amazon.com www.Abebooks.com www.Alibris.com and www.Borders.com and www.lulu.com and www.lulu.com/uk and in Autralia and Asia from www.digitalprintaustralia.com
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Bernie